Falling
by Godless Girl
Summary: Clare's life has been somewhat rocky. First she lost K.C. to  Jenna, then her parents started fighting, and no one seems to notice until a certain boy comes into her life and picks up all the pieces of her crumbling world. E-Clare
1. Screaming

After finally gaining enough courage, I took a deep breathe and screamed. The people around me jumped and even yelled themselves in surprise of my scream. After I finished I sucked in some air to calm my breathing and looked at Eli with a smirk.

"Okay, your turn," I said as I crossed my arms.

"Yeah, not my style," he said and stood slowly.

I stared at him with awe, after publicly embarrassing myself by screaming, he needed to give back. I started after him, he laughed and backed up into a tree.

"You have to... I have to..." I lost my train of thought as he grabbed my wrists and tried to keep me from advancing on him. His smile faded as he stared at me, and I stared back. Back into those bright green eyes of his.

My heart raced and a billion thoughts raced through my head, but the one that scared me the most was the one telling me to kiss him.

I jumped back, realizing that I had just thought that and a blush crept up my cheeks. I hurried to the bench and pretended to fix an imaginary wrinkle to calm myself.

"Uh, I think it's time we head back to school, I promised Alli I'd meet up with her to go to The Dot." I said frantically, packing up my stuff and looking back at Eli. Who was right next to me. And staring at me curiously.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yup. Fine. Perfect actually." I said and walked past Eli towards school.


	2. Do you want it to be?

_God! Why does writing have to be so hard. It shouldn't be. Not for me! _I thought angrily and typed meaningless words onto the computer.

Writing was my way to vent, to release my demons so to speak. And I really needed to vent. I sighed and tried to calm myself, and was just beginning when a message popped up on the screen.

_Ding_!

'eli-gold48: up for some more embarrassment?'

I smiled, something I rarely did when my parents started fighting. Yeah, there were forced smiles and smirks, but Eli made me smile. Really smile.

'clare-e24: is that an invitation?' I typed, smile still on my lips.

_Ding_!

'eli-gold48: do you want it to be?' My smile grew wider and butterflies irrupted in my stomach.

It quickly disappeared when I heard my parents yelling, my gut twisted in a bad way and I tried to drown out my parents bickering. Something about him going to the office and how he needed to make money for the family.

So he was skipping out on the fundraiser that Mom organised. I looked at Eli's reply and was debating on whether to go with my mom, or go with Eli.

"Clare, if you'd like you can go to Alli's for the night." Said my Mom, voice still strong.

I looked back and a small smile graced my lips, and I nodded.

'clare-e24: meet me at the park 8'

I quickly logged off, not waiting for his reply and went up to my bed room to pack and change. I grabbed the phone and dialed Alli's house number. When she didn't pick up I tried her cell phone.

"Hey, Clare. What's up? I'm kinda busy." Answered Alli, there was a strange noise in the background.

"Hey. Is it alright for me to sleepover tonight. My mom wants me to come over and I'm going out with Eli tonight so I-" Alli cut me off.

"Oh my god! Clare! You're going on a date with Eli?" She squealed, I heard a grunt in the background.

"Yes. No. We're just hanging out." I said. "I won't be to your house until twelveish maybe. It's only six-thirty now."

"When's the date?" Asked Alli, making a kissing noise in the background.

"I told you, it's not a date. And I'm meeting him at the park at eight. Good-bye Alli." I said.

"Okay, and my parents aren't home so stay out as long as you like." She replied before I hung up.

I packed nodded and grabbed my sort of big purse. Alli had make-up and whatnot at her house, so I just packed my comfy shorts and a tank top to sleep in.

I took a quick shower and did my make-up, then rummaged through my closet and grabbed a pair of skinny jeans and a long sleeved scoop-necked shirt with an intricate silver design and silver flats.

I checked my clock on my nightstand and flipped out. It read 7:55. How did I get so caught up. It takes at least a ten minute walk there.

I grabbed my bag and bolted down my stairs and out the door.


	3. Almost

I jogged my way to the park, hoping the chilly night air would prevent me from sweating. And stinkiness. The park came into view and I slowed my pace some, hoping I wasn't too late. I flicked my wrist to check the time, it read 8:14, I sighed. I hope he didn't leave, he's most likely going to tease me for being late or something. I sighed, hopefully he won't. I didn't need the stress of his playful teasing and my parents rocky marriage.

I scanned the park, the sun was just setting, it'd be dark in another fifteen minutes or so. And right now, as the sun set, it's light casted eerie shadows across the park. I shivered, but pressed forward. I walked for awhile, trying to find Eli. I saw a black smudge of a person on the swings and a smile graced my lips. I hooked my thumbs in my belt loops and hurried towards the playground. His back was facing me, so I had the element of surprise. I tiptoed across the wood-chips, hoping to be as quiet as possible, and leaned forward. Being careful not to have my hair tickle his neck, I leaned close to his ear.

"Hey, Eli," I whispered.

He jumped forward, off the swing, landing on his stomach first before quickly pushing himself up to look behind him. I giggled as his expression went from shock, to annoyance, to embarrassment. I kept giggling as he pushed himself off the ground and brushed his pants off. I sat him the swing he previously sat in and he cocked an eyebrow.

"Sorry. Move your feet, you lose your seat." I said, then tried very hard not to slap my forehead.

_Okay, that was lame on so many levels_!

I pointed my thumb at the swing next to mine and he rolled his eyes but didn't argue and took the swing next to mine.

"I'm really sorry I'm so late. I got so caught up with..." I didn't want to say I got caught up with getting ready, so I quickly came up with an excuse. "a book."

_Stupid, stupid, stupid_! I wanted to slap myself on the head.

"What book?" He asked.

_Damnit!_

"Uh, I forget the name. It was something my sister gave me awhile ago." I lied, hoping he wouldn't question further.

"What's it about?" He asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Um, it's about..." I racked my brain for an answer, shuffling through all the books I read. "this guy who lost his daughter and he gave up on God. But then God sent him a letter inviting him back to a cabin where the police think his daughter was murdered."

_Genius_!

"God and murder always goes good together." Said Eli sarcastically.

"I take it you don't believe in Him." I said, looking at him.

"No. I don't. And as a good Christian girl, you do." He said with a dry laugh.

"I do. Sort of. I believe there is something out there, bigger than us, and God is just one of many representations of that something." I said, kicking a wood chip.

"Wow," stated Eli.

"What?" I looked up at him, worried.

"That was...deep. You're a tenth grader and you've grasped something that took some people years to understand." He said, giving me a quizzical look.

"Well I'm not in the gifted program for nothing." I said, blood rushing to my cheeks in embarrassment.

"You're in the gifted program?" He asked, I nodded.

"That's one of the reasons I came to Degrassi. Plus, it's where my sister went after Catholic School. And I wanted to give it a try." I said, looking over at him.

He was staring at me, studying me. Like I was some really rare and special artifact on display. I caught his dazzling emerald green eyes with mine and we kind of just stayed like that. Staring. My breath sped up as he leaned in closer, and a million thought zipped through my head. And like earlier, when we had skipped class that day, that one thought made me look away in embarrassment. _Kiss him_!

"Um, you wanna go somewhere else? Above the Dot is open?" I suggested, hoping to relieve the built up tension.

"Sure." Said Eli, voice low and...disappointed?

I jumped up from the swing and grabbed my bag, then looked over at Eli. His gorgeous green eyes seemed sad, and I bit my lower lip. Why was he so sad? I mean, it's not like...he doesn't...does Eli like me?


	4. It's A Start

We walked in silence, and I hoped that he'd start up a conversation, rather than have me wallow in my thoughts. Did he like me? Did...did _I _like him? I was over K.C.; that's for sure. And my summer helped me get over his betrayal. Sort of. It still hurt, since he was my first love, but I realized that it was better to have had it happen like it did, and not know it ever happened. I snapped out of my thoughts as a cold breeze brushed past my exposed skin and caused me to shiver.

"Cold?" Asked Eli, somewhat sarcastic.

"A little. I'll be fine." I said and wrapped my arms around myself.

"Here." Stated Eli, I looked over to see him shrug off his black sweat shirt and draped it on my shoulders.

I was about to protest but the warmth his sweat shirt gave me felt good on my freezing body. I looked up at him with a grateful smile, he gave me a smirk and I looked away. I put my arms through the sleeves to get more comfortable, the sweatshirt was baggy on him, so it was gigantic on me. But I just relished in it's warmth, and Eli's undeniable yummy smell. I noticed he wore a tight black shirt, as usual, but it showed his muscles, and the skinny jeans only added to the appeal when they hung low on his hips.

"So what's Above the Dot?" Asked Eli, snapping me out of my day dreaming,

"It's a club. You know the Dot?" I asked, and he nodded. "Well, the club is above the Dot. Hence the name. They don't serve alcohol, so it's mainly for the kids at Degrassi."

He rolled his eyes, I'm guessing he just thought it'd be some Christian club, where we all try to get along. I never liked Christian rock, it was too false, and I prefer Indie Rock. Or the music Above the Dot played, where the beat was heavy and vibrated throughout your entire body. When we got to the Dot, Eli gave me a questioning look as I walked down the alley. I cocked an eyebrow.

"Scared?" I teased, walking farther into the darkening alley. His eyes widened but a smirk marked his lips.

"No. Should I be?" He asked, advancing on me. Though he stayed near the opening of the alley, near the light.

"Maybe. If you're afraid of dark alleyways." I said, I knew I was slowly disappearing into the darkness. I held back my fears and rounded a familiar corner, making a fake yelping noise as if someone grabbed me.

"Clare!" Yelled Eli, I held back the giggles.

I heard his footsteps quicken and I waited until the last moment. I jumped from my corner, right in front of him. He yelped and bumped into me. We stumbled into the brick wall of the building, he held himself up on his arms, which were on either side of my head. I couldn't stop the giggles erupt from escaping, so I did it freely, right in his face. I could see his expression, a mix of shock, fear, and anger.

"Not. Funny." He said through clenched teeth.

"That would be the second time tonight that I scared you." I giggled.

His green eyes bore into mine, and my giggles slowly stopped, and I studied his face. His lips were in a tight line, his expression stiff, as if he was slowly trying to understand what just happened. I lost my smile and got lost in his eyes.

"I didn't mean to scare you like that. I jus-" I was cut off as his lips crashed to mine. I gasped, not expecting that. My mind grew fuzzy as his teeth grazed my bottom lip, and I quickly let him in. My hands slid up his front to his neck, where I pushed his face closer to mine to deepen the kiss. My mind was blank, my body acting purely on instinct. This was a kiss, a real kiss. The passion in it was nothing like the tender, almost hesitant and restrained kisses that K.C. had given me. My knees wobbled, it was almost too much for me. I couldn't help the moan that erupted and vibrated through our connected lips.

He pulled away first, dragging his lips from mine to the hollow of my ear. His breath was heavy, panting almost after the intense kiss. His teeth played with my ear, causing goosebumps to rise on my arms.

"Don't ever scare me like that again." He whispered, breath hot on my neck.

And he pushed himself off me, his swollen lips in a trademark smirk. I gulped, trying to keep myself from jumping him. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, the only light from the moon. I could see his eyes, somewhat darker. I gulped again, but I shook my head and ran my fingers threw my bangs.

"Um, let's, uh, go." I mumbled, heading down the alley towards Above the Dot.

We walked in silence, the only noise was the very faint thrum of music, coming from Above the Dot. I walked up the stairs first, hoping he'd follow. There was a short line of people, though a lot of people liked the club, the initial hype died sometime this summer so there wasn't a huge line. I looked back at Eli and gave him a smile, he looked somewhat surprised.

"Is it what you expected?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No. It's not. It's a lot like the ones I used to go to." He said, walking with me as the line moved forward.

"Well, it's better inside. Like the first week, Fritz Helder and the Phantoms played here. They're kinda weird, but I sort of liked their music." I said, finally reaching the top of the stairs.

Emma was at the door, the club was free for those with passes, and the price to get in was ten dollars. After she married Spinner, she took over management of Above the Dot. I knew her somewhat personally, since her and Darcy had been friends and all. We talked some, when Darcy let me hang out with them when her friends slept over. Me and Darcy had been close, closer than most siblings, but that was before she was raped.

It took a moment for Emma to recognize me, I had changed a lot and she gave me a wide smile.

"Baby Edwards! How've you been?" She squealed and gave me a small hug. "You look so...grown up."

"I've been great, Mrs. Mason," I giggled. She laughed a little, nodded and looked behind me at Eli, she looked confused at how close he was standing next to me.

"Emma, this Eli, he's my..." I didn't know what to call him. After that kiss. "friend."

I looked back at him, my small smile dropped when he looked disappointed.

"Just friends, huh?" She asked, eying us, though she would never pin us as a couple, she wouldn't over look the term 'opposites attract'.

I handed her my pass and looked over at Eli, told him the price and he pulled out a ten. She stamped our hands with neon green X's and I handed her my bag and Eli's sweatshirt to be kept in the storage area. I'm glad she took over, she knew how to handle a club and after the fire, she got money to renovate the club as well. She had set up a small island for people to pay, and behind her were three rows of cubbies so people wouldn't get their things stolen. The stage was the same, just updated equipment, and the dancefloor had been raised, with an island running along the edge of the dancefloor for people to sit. There were booths lining the walls, some were occupied with a large group of friends, and others had lover's making out. There was a bar, small and only sold non-alcoholic drink and snacks.

"So, what do you think?" I practically yelled, looking over at Eli. The flashing lights made it hard for me to read his expression, but he smiled at me.

"Way better than I thought it'd be." He said and I gave a wide smile.

"Wanna dance?" I yelled, pulling him towards the dance floor.

We stepped onto the dance floor and made it to the center of the large group of people. He placed his hands on my hips and turned me around, then pressed my body flush against his. I let the music take over, the beat was deep and had my heart beating in tune with it. After Alli's dance crew split, she insisted that I go to her house to help her learn some dance moves. She borrowed a DVD from Bianca, after resolving their issues. The moves were fun, and Alli and I had gotten a hang of it. Turns out the video was a workout video that taught moves that strippers used. I was ashamed but right now, I wanted to impress Eli, and I swayed my hips to the music.

His hands slid up my sides and back down to my hips, his mouth always on my neck, breath hot and teasing. It went on like that for a few songs. Until a slow dance came on, some people left the floor, exhausted or not wanting to lose the high from the fast beat music. I pulled away, thinking Eli didn't want to slow dance, but he pulled me back and wrapped his arms around my waist.

I looked at him, stunned, unsure of what to do. I was reluctant to place my arms around his neck, and he saw that. As he tried to pull away, I shook my head and held him close.

"So..." I started.

"So..." He mimicked, I groaned in irritation.

My mind went to our kiss, okay, he had to like me. I mean, you don't just kiss someone and don't mean it. But, did I like Eli? I felt like slapping my head as I came to a realization. I did like him. I liked Eli. I got those butterflies when I looked at him, and worse when he looked back at me. I got a tingle throughout my body at the slightest touch, and he made me aggravated, but I liked it. I smiled up at him, earning a smirk from him.

I stood on my toes and kissed him, there was less aggression, just passion. Reigned, but I poured all my feelings into the sweet kiss. He stiffened, not expecting the kiss, and I was about to pull away but he pressed me closer and tilted his head. There were a few whistles from people on the dance floor, causing me to break the kiss, realizing we were on an almost barren dance floor. I blushed and pulled Eli off the floor and into one of the booths. He slid in beside me and rested his hands on the table.

"Eli..." I didn't know what to say. Or do. He would only be my second boyfriend, so I had no real experience with any of this, just pure instinct. And my instincts were shot.

"I like you, Clare!" He blurted, then looked away, as if ashamed.

I was shocked at first, eyes widening as what he said registered. He looked at me, an awkward smirk playing on his full lips. I smiled, and leaned forward, grabbing his face and kissing him. He was shocked, and before he could respond, I pulled back.

"I like you, too." I said, and looked away in shyness.

He tilted my chin up and kissed me, softer and shorter then before. It took my breath away.

"So, um, do you want to make this official?" I asked, looking at him through my bangs.

"If that's what you want." He stated and I smiled/

"It is." I said and scooted closer to him.

He leaned back, draped an arm over my shoulder, and then we just talked. For awhile. Nothing in particular, just our likes and dislikes, our past and what we want for the future. I cuddled into him and got lost in the moment.

"Hey, you want something to drink?" He asked, I nodded.

He kissed my forehead and scooted out of the booth, disappearing in the crowd. I pulled out my cell and gaped, it was two in the morning. I knew Alli would be mad that I was so late, but she did say as long as I liked.

'_How late can I stay out?_'

_Bizz_!

'_Ur still out with him?_'

'_Yeah. Im not going to explain evrything til i see u in person._'

_Bizz_!

'_Well...its 2! B here by 4! sav will b suspicious._'

'_kay, thanks so much. gtg.'_

I felt the booths cushions sink as someone slid into the booth. I looked up with a smile, only to have it disappear as I saw who sat down.

"K.C.?" I asked


	5. Disgusting

I stared at K.C. in disbelief. What was he _doing _here? Okay, dumb question, of course he'd be here. Everyone from Degrassi came here, so why wouldn't he be here? What I should be asking is, why did he come over here? He gave me a cocky smile, and I frowned. He was drunk, I could tell by the slight sway to his body that had no relation to the music playing.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, looking him over.

"I could ask you the same thing." He teased, leaning closer to me.

I scrunched my nose as I took in his smelly breath and held back a gag. What did I ever see in him? Granted he had a bad past, but still, he was such a good kid last year.

"What I meant was what are you doing? Coming and sitting next to me." I asked, trying to casually scoot away.

"Thought I'd say hi. You look really hot tonight, why didn't you dress like that when we were dating?" He asked, moving over and swinging his arm over me. He nuzzled my neck and I shivered in disgust. But deep inside, I felt a small pain in my heart, those words stung.

Suddenly, he grabbed my wrists and kissed me. I squealed and fought against his hold. He pushed me down further and bit my lip painfully. I felt tears sting my eyes and I shook. I fought harder, trying any way I could to push him off. I thought of Darcy then, thought of what happened. I wished I had the luxioury of not knowing the person. Not even seeing his face. I wish it hadn't been K.C. and I wish I hadn't loved him. My tears fell freely, and I was losing this fight as he moved his mouth lower and bit my neck hard enough to bleed.

I heard something in the background. It wasn't the music which was just a thick beat. It was a growl. Low and angry. My eyes were closed, the pain - both mental and physical - had me too scared to look at anything. Suddenly, K.C.'S weight was gone and I curled myself in a ball, wiping my eyes and humming. Someone touched my arm and I cringed back.

"Clare, it's me. It's okay." It was Eli, my eyes snapped open and saw Eli's bright green eyes.

I bolted upright and hugged him, hoping to contain the tears and sobs that were breaking through my defense. Then I pulled back, sick that I had touched him, after what just happened. I pushed past him and ran to the door of Above the Dot. I pushed past the people going up the stairs and into the dark alley. I stopped and fell against the brick wall, sliding down and finally broke down.

I hadn't heard the rapid approach of someone, I was too lost in my thoughts and the blood pounding in my ears blocked out anything else. But I felt arms wrapping around me and I gasped and cringed away.

"Sh. It's me, Clare." It was Eli, again. I still scooted away.

"You don't have to stay, you can go." I mumbled through tears.

"Why would I want to go? That fucking bastard had praticall-" He started, I cut him off.

"Don't say it. Don't ever say that word!" I said, rocking my body.

"Clare. . ."

"My sister was raped! She almsot killed herself because of it. I saw her wrist bandaged, I saw the blood, I saw it. I promised myself that I would never be in that situation, but now. . . I feel so dirty. I feel disgusting and I feel worse because you have to see me like this. You shouldn't care. I'm disgusting." I said, crying heavily.

He wrapped his arms around me and I gave in, turning my head and crying into his chest. He didn't say anything until my crying had stopped.

"Clare, I would never _ever _let anything like that happen to you. And you're not disgusting. That dude is disgusting. He's knocked out cold on the floor, at least he was when we left." He said, wrapping his arms tighter.

"He was my boyfriend." I said, I felt like I was admitting to farting in class. Embarrassed.

"That asshole was you're boyfriend?" He asked, confused.

"He was nicer, he was a great guy. But he cheated on me and left me for Jenna." I said, looking up at him.

"That fat cheerleader?" He asked, I couldn't help but giggle.

"Better?" He asked, I nodded.

After that, I wiped my tears and stood, bringing him with me. He handed me my purse and his sweatshirt. I pulled on his sweatshirt and relished the musky smell of Eli.

"Should we head back to the park? I left Morty there. Then I could drive you back home?" Asked Ei, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

"I'm spending the night at Alli's." I said.

"Just lead the way." He said and I smiled.


	6. A Fight to Remember

We played twenty questions on the way back to the park. We had little in common, although we both had a fetish for fries dipped in shakes, or pistachio ice cream. And we both like original superhero movies, like Batman and Superman. But, he liked really hardcore music - like Arch Enemy or something. I never listened to them, or anything like them really. I had a sheltered life until I came to Degrassi. I listened to Indie Rock, some weird techno from Alli, and some rock from K.C. Other than that I was clueless to music.

The whole time we were walking, I didn't notice that his hand had slipped into my back pocket until he squeezed. I squeaked and looked up at him in disbelief. He smirked, as always, cocked an eyebrow and I frowned. I pulled away from him, crossed my arms and walked away from him.

I was surprised when he came up behind me. He slid his hands down my arms to my hands and hugged me from behind. We had stopped under a lightpost and I shivered as his lips kissed behind my ear, moving down to my neck and then back up. His breath slid across my neck and sent a trail of goosebumps up my arms.

"I'm sorry." He said and hugged me tighter.

I sighed and turned around in his arms to look him in the eyes. He was giving me a sincere smile, well, half smile. His green eyes bore into my own, and I searched him, looking for something.

"Eli," I started, "I don't want to have sex. I told you about my purity ring and that means my heart belongs to God until the day I marry."

"Whoa, okay, I coped a feel. I'll admit that," he started and I felt heat rise to my cheeks. "That doesn't mean I want to jump you. I can wait, I will wait, and I don't want you to think I'm gonna push you into anything. Just say no and I'll stop. Okay?"

I nodded, feeling embarrassed of myself about the whole thing and I looked away. I felt as one of his arms left my waist and he tugged my chin to look him in the eyes. He kissed my forehead and dropped his hand back to my waist.

"Let's go," he said and pulled away.

He lifted his right arm and kept it around my shoulder as we walked. Feeling a bit bolder, I slid my left arm behind him and tucked my hand into his back pocket. I blushed when he moved his hand did the same, but I didn't stop him.

The park came into view and I clearly saw 'Morty' - since Eli was a guy, he had the urge to name his car - parked in the small parking lot of the park. We untangled ourselves and he held my hand, pulling me across the road and closer to Morty. I saw something move out of the corner of my eye, and before I knew it, I was on the ground with Eli on top of me.

"Eli..." Someone drawled out his name, and I shivered out of fright. I looked into Eli's eyes and I saw something I never knew could cross his snarky face. Fear. Ice cold, bone deep fear.

Eli was yanked off me, and was replaced by a lithe body, and I was looking into deep brown eyes that were glaring down at me with a passion. A lustful passion, and I soon realized who was laying on me. K.C. pressed flush against me, his eyes glazed from alcohol and lust.

I turned my face away to see Eli pulled up by his collar by some burly kid, Fitz was his name, against a tree. He pulled his fist back and it collided with Eli's face. I screamed, but was cut short as K.C. placed a hand over my mouth. Tears stung my eyes as I watched Eli be beaten, K.C. was long gone from my thoughts. Though I felt colder, exposed, and I registered that he had pulled my shirt down, his mouth feverishly kissing my chest. Anger surged through me, I opened my mouth and bit K.C. hard on his hand, making him jump back. I narrowed my eyes at him and tackled him, pinning his arms under my knees.

"You bastard, you sick freak! You broke my heart, and now you tried to have your way with me." I yelled, taking my hand back, about to slap him before someone shoved me off.

It was a brunette, a familiar brunette. Bianca. I growled. We rolled on the ground, I had my hands holding her fists back, but her legs wrapped around my own. Instinct took over and as I took the chance of me being ontop, I slammed my head down, colliding with her own.

With the alcohol and my blow mixed together, she was out cold. Leaving me to stand and wobble as the blow affected me as well. I felt something drip down my cheek and lifted a hand to feel a small gash on the line of my hair. Ignoring the throbbing pain, I looked around to see Fitz and Eli, fists held high but they stared at me. I marched over to the two guys, flexed my hand and slapped Fitz hard across the face. My adrenaline was pumping through my body, making my sense of right and wrong cloud together. Fitz put a hand on his face and stared at me in awe.

"I swear that if you try ANYTHING else, I will scream at the top of my lungs and have all three of you arrested for assaulting us. And you DO NOT want that." I threatened, studying Fitz, then my eyes caught him looking behind me and I spun around.

K.C. was about to jump me, but I extended my leg and made contact with his groin. He groaned and fell to his knees, I growled and turned back to Fitz.

"I'll give you to the count of three to take him, that bitch, and yourself far away. And if you try anything at school, I think they'll love to know how both me and Eli got these injuries." I said, stepping forward right into Fitz's face. "_One._"

He wiped himself off and stood his ground, crossing his arms. "_Two._" I stared into his disgusting scrunched up face. "_Three._" And I screamed, a loud shriek that sent Fitz running and had K.C. scrambling to grab Bianca and run.

In the distance, I heard dogs barking, and I stopped my screaming to look over at Eli. He was staring at me in awe and I felt the tears fall freely as I took in his beaten face. His lip was busted and I saw the faint outline of a bruise on his left cheek. I hugged him and cried into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and rocked me, smoothing my ruffled hair and kissing the top of my head.

"Clare, you were amazing!" He said, pulling me closer to him as sobs racked my body. The high from the adrenaline left my body, but left the pain. I groaned and slouched forward into Eli before everything went black.


	7. AUTHORS NOTE

_I'm debating on continuing the story. Some reviews would be welcomed and feel free to criticize._


	8. New Day, New Scars

_"Eli? What the hell happened? Ohmygod! Clare?" Yelled a shrill voice, I moaned and rolled closer into the warmth. I didn't pay much attention to what was going on, just my breathe and the incredible pain in my head. I kept my eyes closed, too tired to make the effort to open them._

_"Just get me some peroxide, cotton balls, gauze and medical tape." Commanded a deep voice, frantic._

_I gave another moan as I was placed on something soft, but it was cold and the warmth left me. I felt heavy, and tired. But I didn't want to slip away again. Slip into unconciousness. I needed an anchor, I needed Eli..._

_"Eli..." I moaned, something took my hand._

_"Shh, I'm here, Clare. It's okay. I'm here." Said a deep voice, although it sounded deeper than the other._

_"Ahh!" I yelped, something stung, really stun. I squeezed my hands and clenched my teeth, the searing pain gave way to great relief._

_"God, Sav! What are you doing?" Cried the shrill voice, it was far far away..._

_"I'm cleaning the wound. It's pretty bad, how did this happen?" Said Deep Voice #1._

_"We were jumped, by Fitz, Bianca, and K.C. and I think Bianca had something in her hair that cut Clare." Said Eli, I'd know that voice anywhere._

_"K.C.?" Shrieked the shrill voice, it was laced with disgust._

_"That bastard tried to rape her! Twice!" Growled Eli, tightening his grip on my hand. I moaned. "Shh, I'm sorry."_

_"What the hell!" Yelled the shrill voice._

_"You aren't going to say **anything**, alright? She's been through enough. You should've seen her. K.C. was on her, and Fitz was fighting with me. Next thing I knew, K.C. was clutching a bloody hand and Clare was rolling around with Bianca. She slammed her head down on that Bianca chick and she was out cold. Then she came up to Fitz, slapped him, threatened that she'd count until three for him to leave, K.C. tried to jump her and she kicked him in the groin. Then she counted. Fitz didn't leave, so she screamed. God, it was so unlike her." Said Eli._

_"W-wow. She did all that?" Asked the shrill voice, calmer now._

_"Yeah, she's amazing, isn't she?" Complimented Eli, I felt something soft press against my hand. I heard a sharp gasp in the background, from the person with the shrill voice._

_"Alright, why don't I clean your wounds and leave her to rest?" Suggested Deep Voice #1, I moaned and clutched Eli's hand._

_"Don't..." I started but everything crashed and went dark..._

* * *

Sunlight shone down on my face, causing me to groan and roll over and deeper into a thin blanket that covered me. I opened my eyes and rubbed them, confused and a bit dazed. My head throbbed and I let out a gasp as a vivid image of Eli with a bloody lip and bruised cheek flashed through my mind. I bolted upright, groaning as suffered from veritgo and fell back. I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my teeth, hoping for the urge to vomit would go away.

"Clare!" Yelled a familiar shrill voice, it was Alli.

"Should I get Eli? Where is he?" Asked a deep voice, that was Sav.

"Uh, what's going on?" I asked, carefully sitting up and looking around.

"I'll go get him, he'll bring you guys to school." Said Sav, walking out of the...living room?

"What am I doing in the living room? Of your house?" I questioned, looking over at a worried Alli.

"Clare, do you remember anything that happened last night?" She asked, coming over to sit next to me. I shook my head, racking my throbbing head for answers. Something was coming through the fog, about K.C. I looked at Alli and narrowed my eyes. Hoping she'd tell me.

"You and Eli went on a date," she started. I remembered that, going to the park, the almost kiss. Then our walk to Above the Dot. The real kiss, intense and wild. I gasped.

"Me and Eli are dating!" I announced, then blushed and looked down.

"Really? I knew it!" She yelped and hugged my neck and I winced.

Another image, K.C. and he was...drunk? I felt tears prick my eyes. "He had tried to rape me, then Eli came and rescued me. I cried and told him about Darcy, then we went for another walk back to Morty. And...what happened? It's all kinda fuzzy."

"Well, from what Eli told us, you bit K.C. because he tried to rape you...again. Headbutted Bianca, slapped Fitz, screamed, and they all ran away. Oh, and you tapped out K.C. and might I say bravo to you." Said Alli, then she frowned. "Although I don't think that mark won't be going away anytime soon."

She placed her hand on my forehead and I winced, causing her to apologize and drop her hands. I heard someone walk into the living room and looked up to see Eli and Sav, I jumped up, holding back a groan from the pain and hurried to Eli. He hugged me tightly and kissed the top of my head. I looked up to see a clear bruise on his cheek from Fitz, but his lip was alot better.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, I pulled away and frowned. I brought my hand up to his cheek and brushed my thumb over his lip.

"I should be asking you that, all I did was headbutt Bianca." I said, tracing my fingers along the outline of his bruise. His eyes stared into my own and I lost my train of thought as I studied the faint line in the green of his eyes.

"Ahem!" I heard someone clear their throat and looked over to see an annoyed Alli, I blushed.

"Well, why don't you wait here Eli? Clare needs to get ready and so does Alli." Said Sav, backing away towards the door.

"Great idea, come on Clare." Said Alli, running up to me and pulling me towards her room.

Eli kissed my cheek and went to sit on the couch, I waved before being pulled roughly by Alli. She may be small, but she's way strong. She pushed me into her room and shut the door behind her and gave me a giant smile. Then she gave a loud squeal and hugged me.

"OHMYGOD! I can't believe you're dating Eli! Not that it doesn't surprise me but EEPP! He's a goth hottie, which are hard to come bye, and you snagged him. Much, much better than K.C. btw." She squealed and I joined her for a moment before pushing her away and taking a deep breath.

"Don't make a big deal about this, okay? Now, I need to get dress, actually, a shower might be good if you don't mind?" I asked, earning a nod from Alli.

After a quick shower, I hurried out of the bathroom in one of Alli's cute pink towels only to bump into Eli. I yelped and fell into his arms, looked up and saw an awestruck Eli. I blushed ferociously and stammered for words.

"Eli! What are...ohmygod!" I yelped, realizing I was only in the towel. And it was Alli's towel, and we all know how tiny Alli is, so it only came to my thigh and barely fit around my torso. Leaving it to open slightly at my hip. I pulled it tighter and stared at Eli in horror.

His mouth opened, then closed. He did that about five times before placing both hands over his eyes and turning away. I felt somewhat hurt, like he didn't want to look at me. Then he did something unexpected.

"Go, please, before I take you right now." He commanded and I scurried to Alli's room, peeking to see Eli embarrassingly holding his crotch as he entered the bathroom.

I looked over to see Alli applying her make-up, I decided to pretend that little incident never happened and went to my bag. I forgot that I only had brought my tank and sport shorts. So I embarrassingly asked Alli for some of her clothes. She gave me a wicked smile and went to her closet. She pulled out a black mini skirt, a black tank top and a baby blue scoop neck sweater/hoodie. I eyed her but complied, it was decent but I wished that it didn't show so much cleveage. That's Alli for you.

I denied her offer of high heels and borrowed a pair of black flats. I did my make-up and Alli forced me into straightening my hair, which didn't look that bad. And thankfully, my injury was on the side of my face where my bangs covered, so no worries on people gawking at it. I checked the clock and saw we still had a half hour to kill before school.

"Wanna head to the Dot for some breakfast?" I asked, heading over to grab my bag.

"Sure." She said and bounced out the door in her mini dress and overly high heels.

I saw Eli sitting on the couch, Sav clearly left, probably to do Student Council stuff. I was surprised he had won, especially with announcing he was going to be a father. Although, Anya miscarried so I can't imagine what that must've been like. I noticed that his face was a little flushed when he looked at me and I felt my own cheeks heat up when I thought about what happened in the hallway.

"Can you drive us to the Dot for some breakfast?" Asked Alli, leaning against the wall.

"Okay," he said and stood up quickly.


	9. Making A Scene

We filed out of Alli's house, Eli's hearse was right in front of it. I slid in on the passender side, and was pushed to the middle by Alli. The leather seats were smooth and plushy, which I found kind of odd for a hearse. Eli slid in, started the car and headed towards downtown. He lifted his right arm and put it around my shoulder, I snuggled into him. I heard Alli make a gag noise and I scowled at her.

"So what happened when I passed out?" I asked, looking up at Eli.

"Well," Eli started. "Fitz booked it and K.C. grabbed Bianca and ran to God-only-knows where. I took you to Morty, grabbed your phone, texted Alli to ask where she lived. Then I drove to her house, Sav cleaned that nasty gash, and I went home. I came over as soon as Sav had called. Turns out Alli lives like not even five minutes from my place."

"Wow, oh, can we ...you know...just ignore K.C. and Fitz and Bianca. Pretend like nothing happened?" I asked, eyeing Alli who frowned.

"You're not going to press charges?" She asked, clearly disappointed.

"No, I'm not. _But_ if they try anything, then I will. I really don't think I can handle anything more." I sighed, biting my lip.

"Well, let me know if anything else happens. I'll have Drew kick their butts, with the help of the football team." Alli said, smiling dreamily.

"Will do." I said, rolling my eyes. Drew wasn't good news. While I was changing, she blabbed about her party and went over every detail up until the makingout. Thank goodness she didn't go into detail.

Eli pulled up to the Dot, earning us a few weird stares from the people sitting outside. I slid out of the passenger seat with Alli and made my way to the Dot. Eli came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to one of the outside tables. I giggled and sat on his lap, then looked over to see a disgruntled Alli.

"Go get what you want, I don't think I'll be able to hold anything down right now anyways." I said, laughing as Eli squeezed me.

"Why are you so grabby?" I asked, looking down at him. His playful smirk on his lips, I frowned as I looked over his wounded face. Then I felt angry, but I tried not to show it.

"Because I can't get that image of you in the pink towel out of my head." He said, nuzzling my neck, nipping the skin.

I blushed and looked away, although I pratically melted when he nibbled on my earlobe. My happiness soon ended when I looked over to see Jenna hurrying over to us, her expression was of pure fury. She looked from Eli to me then Eli and then me again.

"Clare, you bitch. How could you _bite _K.C. like that?" Yelled Jenna, yanking me off Eli's lap. I stumbled and caught myself before I fell. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Excuse me? I had good reason. You're _boyfriend _tried to...you know what. Forget it. You aren't worth my time." I growled, walking away from her.

"Oh no you don't." Snarled Jenna, pulling my arm and making me face her.

"You wanna know what happened?" I yelled at her, then I pulled my hair back. Jenna looked up and she gasped. "Your _boyfriend _and his buddies got drunk. Then he tried to rape me. _Twice_. Happy now?"

"C-clare. I...I...I..." She trailed off, she looked close to tears.

"Don't worry. Your precious boyfriend didn't do that to me. I just bit him, and I got attacked from Bianca. Then I kicked him in the groin. Just stay away from me, Jenna." I said, walking away and into the Dot.

"Clare! Wait!" Called Jenna, running up to me.

"I said to leave me alone. All you've done was cause me grief. You stole my boyfriend, though, you two seem perfect for each other." I said, glaring at her.

Tears were falling from her eyes, she looked like she was going to have a meltdown. Then she did something weird and hugged me, sobbing into my shoulder. I was in shock and awkwardly patted her back. People around us stared at us, giving both of us glares, I sneered.

"I'm... I'm...s-so s-sorry, Clarebear!" She struggled for words through her tears. I groaned and pulled her into the nearby alley, then pushed her away from me and crossed my arms.

"I don't want your apology, I don't need it. Tears and an 'I'm sorry' isn't going to change the fact that you stabbed me in the back. Stole my boyfriend, made a rumor that I was going to get _breast _implants. No way am I going to just let you get away from that." I glared at her, but gave a sigh and rolled my eyes. "The most I'll give you is for me to be civil. But by no means will I be your friend. Now, leave me alone. Have fun with your boyfriend."

"He won't be my boyfriend for long." She said, but I didn't look back at her. I just kept walking.

I was greeted by an amused Eli, his busted lips in a smirk and eyebrow cocked, I just gave him a 'Don't ask' look and went to take an empty seat next to him. Only to have him pull me back on his lap. I cuddled into him and gave a relieved sigh and rested my head ontop of his.

"I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have let that happen. With K.C. and Bianca. And now you're hurt because of it." He said, hugging me tighter.

"Eli, you couldn't have stopped it. And you're hurt worse than I am. I mean, I just got this little cut. But you've got this giant bruise on your cheek. And your lip is busted." I said, bringing my hand up to run my fingers lightly against his cheek.

"Kiss it better?" He teased, I smiled.

He tensed when I started to kiss the outline of his cheek slowly, going down to his jawline and up to his lips. I don't think he expected me to do so, and I relished in the fact that he let out an audible gulp when my lips went to his ear and I licked the shell of his ear.

"Better?" I asked in a breathy voice, then I pulled back, realizing what I just did.

"Clare! I got you a mint tea, to help with your stomach." Announced Alli, causing me to jerk my head back.

"Thanks so much." I said and grabbed for the tea.

"Anywho, it's time for school. Let's go." Said Alli, heading down the sidewalk.

"You're not gonna ride with us?" I asked, tilting my head.

"You think I'm going to arrive at school in a _hearse_? No offense." She said, Eli just shrugged.

"Fine by me." Said Eli, earning a sneer from Alli.

We got into Morty and Eli started off to school. He turned on the radio and it blared music. I asked him who it was and it was called the 'Dead Hands' and it wasn't actually that bad. Granted it wasn't you'd catch me listening to, but I liked the heavy beat and the strong words.

"You like?" Asked Eli, I nodded. He chuckled and I gave him an odd look.

"What?" I asked.

"You're so...different." He said, I noted his cheeks flushing.

"Is that good or bad?" I asked, sort of confused.

"Good. Very good." He said and I felt myself blushing.

I was about to ask what when we pulled up to school, I tried to hide my disappointment. I wouldn't see him until our English class, and lunch. I got out of the hearse and headed to the doors of Degrassi, Eli came up behind me and placed his arm casually around my shoulder. The looks we got were pretty funny, but I didn't care. Because I may of found the guy of my dreams.


	10. Foggy Windows

The next couple of days went by quickly. Nothing too serious happened, I had seen K.C. with Fitz and Bianca that first day. K.C.'s hand was bandaged, and when he saw me, he looked ashamed. Bianca had a giant lump on her forhead that looked like she was growing a third eye. And Fitz, well, he looked angry. Luckily, I was with Eli, Adam, and Alli at the time. Eli sneered at him and I just hugged his arm. To comfort myself and keep him from jumping them.

Jenna hadn't ended things with K.C. and I knew she wouldn't. She didn't care about me, she cared about her reputation, and that meant she would stay with her football playing boyfriend no matter what. So, I just ignored her, but I did act civil when she was with Alli. Figures Alli would stay friends with Jenna, but I didn't care, as long as she didn't try to hurt me. Which I knew she wouldn't.

I had finally gotten out of my funk on writing as well, I'd written a letter about my parents. And their fighting. I felt so embarrassed when I had gotten all teary-eyed when I read it in class. Unfortunetly, Eli had mentioned that I should be entered in the showcase today and Mrs. Dawes signed me up. I was currently freaking out backstage, going from glaring at Eli to self loathing for writing this.

"Eli...I can't do this." I mumbled, pacing back and forth.

"Yes. You can. Now go." Said Eli, I just frowned and started to back away. He quickly wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into a hug. "I know you can do this."

His lips crashed to mine in a heated kiss, I was shocked, and before I could get into it he had pushed me out the doors and onto the stage.

I glared back at Eli, then turned to see a crowd of anxious people. I kept my head low and hurried to the stand and placed my paper down on the podium. I mumbled the first few lines, then looked up. I saw the bright cheery face of my mom and I cracked. I hurriedly took my paper and ran backstage and to the front doors of Degrassi. Eli was close behind me, he grabbed my arm before I could run any farther.

"Clare, what was that?" Asked Eli, I shook my head.

"I couldn't do it. It was too personal." I said, looking down in shame.

"I thought you didn't care what people think." Eli said, it was more of a statment than a question, but I answered.

"To an extent, Eli. I don't want to read about my personal feelings towards my family. It's the one thing I have, and it's falling apart. You don't hear the constant yelling, you don't know what it's like to spend half the night awake and hearing your parents screaming at each other. Or hear your mom's quiet sobs when it's all over." I yelled at him, tears fresh in my eyes.

Suddenly Eli wrapped his arms around me and I cried into his chest, he rocked me and kissed the top of my head. It was over soon, maybe it was just all the stress of the past few days building up. He led me to Morty and I stayed quiet as we drove away from the school. We ended up at the park, but I didn't feel like walking, or going on the swings.

"Do you just want to hang in the back?" He asked, I looked over at him with a weak smile.

He got out and I heard the back doors open, I was lost in my train of thought when his head popped through my window, kissing my cheek. I blushed and looked away, but proceeded to get out of the car and around back. I was surprised to see such an open area, on either side of the car were seats, much like the front. The aisle was narrow, cluttered with stuff.

"Wow," I said as I crawled in. And, being a guys car, there was junk in the back. Nothing too disgusting. Just clothes, a very large collection of music, and school things.

"I have a feeling that these seats weren't in here before. Did you work on this car?" I asked, sitting next to Eli. I was poked with seat buckles, surprising me more.

"Yeah, I did. My great grandfather had owned a funeral service, and he gave me this hearse. Was a piece of shit when I got it, but it's a lot better now. My mom disapproves of it, but I don't care really." He stated, shifting his arm over my shoulder.

"What about your father?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Never knew him. My mom got pregnant with me when she was just seventeen, a junior. My dad bailed, I guess," he said.

"Oh, Eli, I'm so sorry. Oh, I'm such an idiot about what I said earlier." I moaned, frowning at him.

"No, it's okay. Plus, my situation is much different from yours. Probably worse, I never knew a real father, so it's not like I can miss him. But you know your parents, and it must be killing you." He said, wrapping his other arm around me.

"Eli?" I asked, looking up at him.

I gnawed on my lip, debating on whether to do what I've been so tempted to do. I gave in and pushed myself up to kiss him. I was hoping he'd make the next move, because I honestly didn't know what it was. He seemed shocked, and stayed frozen for a moment. I was about to pull away, accepting the rejection when he grabbed my face and kissed me back.

It was amazing. It was intense. It was passionate. It was what I wanted all along, he was gentle, but there was aggression. Oh, he was aggressive. It was like the kiss we had in the alley, making me hot with just the simple touch of his lips.

His tongue slid across my lower lip, and I shyly parted them. And that's when all my smarts seemed useless and irrelevant. His tongue skillfully danced with mine, swishing the heat between our mouths. I tried to fight my way into his own mouth, only to fail. I placed my hand on his neck and tilted my head to kiss him better. He leaned back, pulling me with him. I straddled his waist and continued to kiss him. My fingers tangled into his hair, and I let out a small moan as his hands squeezed my butt. His lips left mine and trailed kisses down my neck to my pulse where he started to suck.

I let out a long sigh that ended in a moan, causing Eli to nip my neck. His hands moved up and down my sides, pausing just when his thumb brushed the underside of my chest. He pulled his mouth away from my neck - causing me to let out a whimper of disappointment - and looked at me questioning look. I chewed on my bottom lip, knowing he wanted to go farther. His hand started to pull away, and I felt something in my stomach flutter, disappointment?

I slid my hand down and grabbed his own, then pulled it up to my chest. I tried not to giggled at the expression on his face. He quickly recovered and went back to kissing my neck, though, he rolled us over onto the floor so he was ontop. Luckily, the floor was about level with the seats, so I didn't get totally hurt when I was pushed onto the plushy floor.

His hand played with my breast, I let out a strangled moan. I had never played with myself in anyway. Even after the whole vibrator thing, and K.C. had never done anything like this to me. So, the warm feeling in my abdomen was new to me, and I didn't want that feeling to leave. So, as Eli's hand started to unbutton my shirt, I didn't have the nerve to stop him.

I just wore plain jeans, a plaid button-up and a vest, so he easily opened the top of my shirt. I blushed when I saw that he was staring, I didn't have the biggest chest, especially compared to Alli so I felt nervous as his gaze traveled down my body. I hadn't picked the best underclothes, just my plain white bra with a bow in the middle. I blushed and looked away, embarrassed as he gawked at my chest.

"Can you not stare?" I stated, chewing on my lip again.

"Nope." He said, and I gasped as his lips started to make their way down to the valley of my breasts.

He nipped at the skin and I let out a loud moan, then my cheeks flushed as I realized Eli's name had slipped out. His hands found my breasts and started to knead them, while his tongue ran across my right breast. He pulled down my bra and his mouth latched onto my right nipple. I gasped. His tongue swirled around it, then his teeth nipped it and pulled it gently. My fingers curled into his hair, and I swore I felt his lips tug up into his famous smirk.

His mouth moved lower, leaving a blazing trail across my chest to my stomach. I was in my own dream world, but it came crashing down as Eli quickly jumped up and pulled the blanket over me. That was when I noticed someone was knocking on the back door of the hearse. My blood ran cold, and I hurriedly fixed my clothes.

"Clare! I know you're in there, and I don't really care what you're doing but can I see you." Asked a deep voice, I gasped. Shocked but then anger took its place.

I pushed pasted, Eli, who was holding the pillow over his lap. I opened the doors to see K.C. pacing on the sidewalk, I eyed him and jumped from behind the hearse. He didn't seem to know what to do with himself, he'd shove his hands in his pockets, then pull of his hat and run a hand through his hair. I glared, crossed my arms and stood my ground as he came up to me.

"Clare. I am so so so sorry about what happened." He said, running up to me. He reached out, arms open, ready to hug me. _SMACK_!

He stared at me, hand gingerly touching his reddening cheek. I glared at him, hoping my chilly attitude would warn him off. His eyes darkened and he hung his head in shame, then he looked up with tears were in his eyes.

"Don't you _ever _touch me again." I said through clenched teeth, glaring daggers at him. "I don't need you're pity. You can just go straight to hell. It's one thing to break my heart, but then you tried to take my innocence. No. I don't think so. Now take you're disgusting self somewhere else."

"Clare...I..." I got up into his face.

"I said go." I ordered, earning a frown from K.C. before he slouched away.

I hadn't noticed Eli until his hand touch my fist, trying to loosen my grip. I looked over at him with a grim smile. He pulled my arm and I wrapped my arms around his waist while he hugged my shoulders.

"How about we continue _that_," he jerked his head towards the back of the hearse, "later. I'll bring you home."

I blushed, figuring what Eli meant by _that_ and nodded. We pulled apart to get into the hearse and the ride was silent, he didn't bother on turning any music on. When we got to my house, we both got out and he walked me to the door. I hugged his waist and kissed his neck before going. I was so happy about how reluctant he was to let go of my arm, my high soon died when I walked into the kitchen to see my mom tapping her fingers.

"Clare, what happened? You've been gone for three hours?" She asked, jumping up to give me a hug.

"I was with Eli, we talked, about a lot of things." I lied, and turned to the counter in the kitchen.

"Getting cold feet is so unlike you, what happened?" She asked, I hung my head and took a deep breathe.

"This is what I was suppose to read..." I mumbled, handing her my paper.

And that was that, she read it, and by the end she was on the verge of a meltdown. We talked, for a long time, until my dad got home. And I encouraged her to talk to him. Of course, their 'talking' turned to 'bickering' which then led to a battle of who could yell the loudest. I decided to take a walk and clear my head, probably head to Alli's to talk with her.

As I shut the door, I turned to see Eli, leaning against his hearse. I stared in wonder, and shook my head. It was getting dark out, so maybe a walk wasn't the best.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, walking down the steps quickly.

"Hi Eli, how are you? Fine, Clare, thanks for asking." Said Eli, and I giggled.

"How's this?" I said and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss me. Our mouths moved against each other, and I blushed as I remembered the little incident in the hearse.

I pulled back, seeing a goofy smile on his face, I giggled. "Better?" I asked, fingers playing with his hair.

"Mmm, maybe." He contemplated, I frowned. He laughed and kissed me quickly. "It was the best." He said, nuzzling my neck.

"So, what _are _you doing here?" I asked, pulling back slightly.

"Well, I figured you could use these." He said and pulled away from me, reaching down into his hearse.

As he rummaged, I blushed as I studied his butt. I may be a good girl, the goody-goody in school, but I was also a teenage girl. Who had a boyfriend with a really tight butt. Which I liked, alot. He came back up with a pair of big headphones, I glanced from them to Eli. He called them a 'noise cancellation', for when my parents yelled. I smiled, and looked back at my house. Her parents voices had lowered considerably, which was good considering.

"You wanna come in? My parents seemed to stop their fighting. I think." I said, backing away and pulling him towards my door.

"Sure," he said and followed me up the steps to my house.


	11. A Dark Weekend

Last night was a disaster, like Hurricane Katrina, but much much worse. First of all, my parents _had _stopped fighting. But, it was because my father went on a rampage. There was broken glass everywhere, littering the floor like confetti. The coffee table was tipped forward and the contents of it were spilled onto the rug. Cushions were thrown haphazardly in the room, and I'm guessing some knocked down pictures on the wall. The family portrait of our family layed on the floor, glass split in many directions. Much like it is now.

When I went into the kitchen, I saw my mother huddled in a corner, nursing a newly forming black-eye. The dishes were shattered on the floor around her, and the table was pushed aside. I gaped, not knowing what to do. I felt numb, and distant. I made Eli leave, no matter how much he argued that it wasn't safe for me.

I spent the night locked in my room, cuddling a pillow and nursing my own wound, my heart felt heavy and like it was tearing into little tiny pieces. I never believed in the term a 'broken heart' and I hadn't felt it when K.C. had left me for Jenna, but it was real. It was very, very real.

The next morning, thankfully Saturday, my mom knocked on my door. I wiped my eyes, and got out of bed. I hadn't changed, I was too exhausted from the whole thing to even care. I opened the door to see my mom in the same clothes as well, her eye wasn't as bad but it was already colored and swollen.

"We need to talk." She said, I only nodded.

She walked into my room and sat on my bed, patting the spot next to her. And we did talk, how my dad had cheated, and that he said he was sorry and regretted it. But my mom lashed out at him, saying that they were going to divorce. Then he begged and pleaded for her to take him back, and that's when he went on his rampage. He hit mom with the back of his hand as she tried to stop him, and things would've gotten worse if I hadn't came in.

"So, are you getting a divorce?" I asked, fiddling with my hands.

"I'm afraid so, sweetie," she said.

"Does that mean we have to move?" I asked, she shook her head.

"No, we're going to stay here. Once I win the house in a custody battle. And you're not going with him." She stated, rubbing my back.

"Mom..." I trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Yes, dear," she coaxed me on.

"Why?" I asked finally.

"Why what, honey?" She asked.

"Why did all this happen? Why now? Why did he cheat? Why did he flip out?" I asked, tears falling freely.

"Oh, dear. I don't know, honey, I really don't know." She said and pulled me into her arms.

For the rest of the day I stayed in my room crying, thinking about the whole thing. I wore myself out so much that I didn't fall asleep until Sunday morning and didn't wake up until 7:30 at night. The phone rang, I didn't bother to answer until it rang again within another minute. Mom had left to go to Grandma's and she left me here. I groaned, got up and lazily walked to the phone in my room.

"Hello?" I asked, clearly annoyed.

"_Clare! Where are you? I tried you all day yesterday!_" Came Alli's voice, hyper and shrilly.

"My parents are getting divorced and I'd really like to be left alone, okay?" I snapped, hanging up soon after.

The phone rang ten times after I hung up on Alli, so I turned to ringer off and went back to bed. Of course, with Alli, things can't be left alone. She was at my house within fourteen minutes, I counted exactly that. She banged on the door and I groaned.

I opened the door to be greeted by a very serious Alli, she jumped forward and gave me a hug. Which proceeded me to break down again, and Alli 'shh' me for awhile. Eventually we made it to my room where I gave her the full story, from giving my mom the paper to today. She looked close to tears herself when I finished.

"Oh my god, Clare, I'm so sorry. I... Do you want me to stay?" She asked, I nodded and fell back on my bed.

"Are going to school?" She asked, rubbing my arm.

"I don't know. I had this big thing with K.C. on friday and I don't feel like getting all cheesed off by him." I said, too tired to care about anything.

"Well, I'll be _right _back. I'm spending the night and I'm going to grab." She said, before running out of my room.

I groaned as Alli's chattering made my head hurt, she apologized and left me to a quiet house again. I decided to see if Eli was on, after crying with Alli and getting everything off my chest, I felt lightier.

_Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!_

I had about five messages from Eli, all asking what was happening. Luckily, he was on, and I messaged him.

**clare-e24: hey**

**eli-gold48: clare! r u ok?**

**clare-e24: yeah. im fine.**

**eli-gold48: you dont sound it. what happened?**

**clare-e24: my parents are getting divorced. he cheated on her and then went on a rampage.**

**eli-gold48: i can tell. r u going to skool 2morrow?**

**clare-e24: maybe. alli is spending the night.**

**eli-gold48: good. want me to come over?**

**clare-e24: its ok. ill just see you 2morrow.**

**eli-gold48: so...how r u?**

**clare-e24: under the circumstances, alright. i think alli is here. ill tlk to you 2morrow. XOXO**

**_clare-e24 has signed off_**

"Clare, time for a major boost!" Yelled Alli, not bothering on knocking on the door.

"Ugh." I groaned, and the night went by slow.

We all watch movies and chowed down on popcorn, well, Alli ate popcorn and I devowered about four cartons of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie. Of course, Alli made me watch _The Notebook _and _Dear John_, so I cried some more. We sniffed our way through both movies until the end of _Dear John_, which was around eleven. We got in our pajamas and went to bed, well, I _tried _to sleep but Alli had other plans.

She made herself comfortable on Darcy's bed, and I snuggled into my pillows, hoping that tonight I wouldn't cry. And I didn't, thanks to Alli. She couldn't keep her mouth shut about Drew, and how great a kisser he was, and how they were so great for each other. I fell asleep sometime around one, thankfully, I didn't dream.

* * *

The next morning, Alli woke me up extra early. God only knows why, she said that I needed to get refreshed for the upcoming week. I just groaned and took a quick shower, Alli barged in half-way through and told me Eli was here.

"So I take it you're going to be driven to school by him everyday?" She muttered, I nodded, then felt stupid because she couldn't see past the curtain.

"I guess so. Jealous?" I teased.

"A little, I can't believe you got a hottie boyfriend that knows how to drive!" She whined, I rolled my eyes.

"You can ride with us?" I suggested, peeking my head out of the shower.

"And watch you two stare at each other like lovesick puppies. Thanks, but no thanks." She commented, adding more mascara.

"Your loss," I said and stuck my tongue at her.

After the shower I curled my hair with gel and dressed in a tight brown graphic tee, jean skirt, and brown leggings. Alli insisted on doing my make-up, but she only applied a litte, unlike the huge mess of make-up she wore. I heard Eli talking to Alli about something while I gathered my stuff for school. Being quiet, I tip-toed to the top of the stairs and listened.


	12. Fun On the Couch

"Do not, I repeat, _do not _talk about Clare's parents. Okay? She was a mess last night and I don't want her to get all yucky for school." Stated Alli, I had an urge to tell her to shut up.

"I get it. And I won't. Unless she feels like talking. I'm not _that _insensitive." Said Eli, he sounded annoyed.

"Whatever. You have no idea how much damage control I had to do. She spent all of Saturday in her room crying," _Shut up, shut up, shut up!_ "which wasn't the prettiest sight. Then, she drowned her sorrows with some sappy movies and a whole bunch of Ben & Jerry," _I am going to KILL her, I swear, _"But, I got her back on her feet. So don't knock her down."

"Alright, alright." He said, clearly avoiding an argument. "You know, she's not a baby, Alli. She can take care of herself. To an extent. You don't need to treat her like she isn't an adult."

_I knew there was a reason I liked him!_

"You don't know her, Eli, you've only just started dating. And I know she isn't a baby, but sympathy is what she needed. And isn't going to get it from a guy obssessed with death and wears black all the time." Said Alli.

"Please, get off you're high and mighty pedistal. And don't diss on my individuality, I don't make comments on your slutty clothes. I can give her what she needs, if she wants it, so back off. It's none of your business anyways." He snapped, my eyes widened, I was shocked at his sharp words.

"_Excuse_ me? Slutty? You dick," Started Alli, ending with a smack. I gasped and hurried downstairs.

"Hey guys!" I said.

I walked down the stairs to see Eli in the hallway, clearly pissed off, and clearly trying to reign his anger. Alli had her arms crossed with a 'Don't mess with me' expression, I stood between them and looked from one to the other.

"Am I missing something?" I lied, Alli placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a 'kiss, kiss' thing.

"I'm off to school," she said while heading to the door. She gave Eli a quick glare before leaving, and I giggled as Eli stuck his tongue at her while she closed the door.

"I don't think she likes me." He said, I laughed.

"She just doesn't like you're attitude," I commented and turned to face him.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, and his lips went to my neck and started to playfully nip at my pulse. I moaned audibly and ran my fingers through his hair, pressing my body firmly against his.

"You wanna skip?" He asked breathlessly.

I chewed on my bottom lip, we had skipped before, so there wasn't any real harm. My mom wouldn't be home until five today, Alli told me she came by around five to get ready for work. So I nodded, then I felt Eli's lips tug into a smile as his lips skimmed across my neck. He herded me back until we reach the couch and pushed me down, our bodies never leaving each other.

"Should we continue what we started in Morty?" He asked breathlessly, lips ghosting over my skin.

I replied with a moan, mostly because my brain was too fuzzy to put coherent words together. He left a wet trail of open-mouth kisses on my neck, nipping the skin every so often. My fingers were still tangled in his hair, and I pulled him up to kiss me. His tongue slid across my lower lip, I tilted my head and parted my lips. His tongue darted in, running it across my canines and the roof of my mouth.

His hands snaked their way up my shirt, hesitating as his fingers brushed the underside of my breast. His lips left mine, trailing fast kisses to my ear. He sucked on my earlobe and tugged it, making me writhe underneath him.

"Can I?" He asked, he was panting and I let out a gasp as he suggestively pushed his hips against mine.

"Uh-huh." I managed.

His hands moved up farther and he grabbed my chest, I let out a sigh. His lips came back to mine and forced his tongue into my mouth, not that I minded. I blushed when he pulled my t-shirt up and started to kiss the exposed part of my breast. He moved his head back up to look me in the eyes, dazzling green, I was almost totally lost in them. I nodded my head, knowing what he was asking without putting words into it.

I helped him pull my shirt off, but I had him take off his own. I didn't expect him to be so...defined? He was lean, but I could trace the faint lines of his muscles. I let my fingers run down his stomach, loving the way his muscles clenched as I ran my fingers down them lightly. I glanced at his face, his eyes were glazed and his mouth slighty ajar. I nuzzled his neck and grazed my teeth, earning a moan from him.

"Clare..." My name fell from his lips and I shivered.

Somewhere, in the back of my head, I knew this was wrong. But we weren't having sex, we were just...fooling around. I felt conflicted. I wanted to continue, have Eli do his magic on my chest, maybe more. But, I knew later, would I be betraying my oathe to God? But if He was real, he wouldn't have let my dad cheat, or have him hit my mom. So I helped Eli as he unclasped my bra.

He kissed my mouth roughly, pressing his bare chest against my own, eliciting a moan from both of us at the friction. He ground his hips with mine, 'Little Eli' pressing against me. I felt a sharp, almost painful, spark as he did so. I moaned loudly and pushed my hips up to meet his. We both groaned, and I bit his neck, maybe to hard but he seemed to enjoy it.

His lips went to my breasts, hot tongue playing overly-sensitive skin. My breath hitched as his mouth found my nipple, one of his hands playing with the other. He sucked, nipped, and pulled - he moved his mouth to blow his cool breath against the taunt nipple. He switched his attention to my other breast, and lazily played with it, drawing out continuous whimpers from me.

He pulled at my leggings, and I wondered what he was doing until they were all the way down. I pulled his head up and my brows furrowed. His eyes studied me, searching for something.

"Eli, I told you, I'm not going to have sex with you." I said, and Eli chuckled.

"I know that, do you see me taking off my pants?" He asked, I eyed him. He moved his lips to my ear, and suddenly his hand cupped my sex. "I'm just going to make you feel good."

At 'good' he pressed his fingers at the top of my sex, I moaned and felt a duller spark in my abdomen. He rubbed lazy circles around that one spot, a tight coil forming in my abdomen. His free hand started to play with my breast and his mouth lazily kissed my neck. His circles grew faster and my breath sped up as his pace quicken. I let out a disappointed whimper when his hand left, quickly replaced with a gasp as he tugged the front of my panties.

His face moved up to look at me, and I nodded, knowing what he was asking. His hand slipped in and I let out a pleasured gasp as his fingertip made contact with that spot. He slipped it down farther and had his middle finger slide into me. I let out a groan, it was painful, but as I adjusted, I felt the coil in my stomach return and tighten.

His finger slid in as far as possible, then back out, making a long breathy moan escape my lips. He continued this pattern, getting faster and I panted. Grabbing his face, I pulled him up and kissed him fiercly. My lips were loose in the kiss, breaking away as the pleasure had my mouth hanging open. The coil was getting tightening and little whimpers kept escaping me.

"Eli..." I managed, earning a grunt from him.

His name slipped out many more times as his fingers thrusted into me. I felt my face flush as Eli had his 'Little Eli' press against my thigh in jerky motions. The coil in my abdomen got incredibly tighter, and I wondered when I'd find a release from the almost painful pleasure.

"Eli!" I cried, the coil sprung loose, sending waves of pleasure racking my body. Eli moaned my name as well and helped me ride out the intense feeling. "That was..."

"Amazing?" He questioned, kissing my forehead.

"Very," I breathed out.


	13. Authors Note 2

_I'm not going to be updating for a couple of days because I'm going off. But as soon as I get the chance I'll give you more Eclare. And if you want, leave ideas in my inbox for stories._

_Peace,_

_Crissy-Kitty-kat_


	14. Broken, Beaten, Scarred

I pecked his lips, smiling widely. My body was ringing, goosebumps marked my skin still. I ran the back of my hand down his cheek, thumb brushing his healing lip. I felt my high die as the thought crossed my mind, causing me to frown unintentionally.

"What's wrong?" He asked, body towering over my own.

"Nothing," I replied quickly.

"Oh, is it because of what just happened? You didn't have to. I would've stopped. I kn-" I kissed him, to stop his rambling.

"No," I said as I pulled away. "That isn't why. I was just thinking about your busted lip."

"Clare, it's nothing. Really." He said, kissing my forehead, away from my gash.

"It is something, and I swear, if they try anything again..." I trailed off when I caught the amused expression on his face. "What?"

"You're cute when you're mad." He laughed, nuzzling my neck. I giggled.

I pushed him up, so I could sit up as well. The air was calm, but I felt a small bit of tension. What now? Should we head to school, feign tardiness? I liked that idea, I wanted, no, needed to talk to Alli. I looked around the living room, grimacing when I saw my shirt was thrown on a family portrait and my bra hung on a picture of my Nana. I, then, came to terms that I had nothing covering my chest and I quickly covered my breasts.

Eli chuckled, and leaned into me, lips on my ear. "Why are you hiding? It's not like I haven't seen them."

I flushed, stood abruptly, and gathered my clothes. I felt his eyes on my back as I started to put on my bra, but he got up as I started for my shirt. He wrapped his arms around my waist, face buried in my hair. I tried to ignore the warm feeling I got in the pit of my stomach as his bare chest touch my back.

"And what do you think you're doing?" He asked, breath fanning across my ear.

"W-what do you mean? I-I'm getting dressed." I replied, audibly gulping.

"My point exactly, why are you getting dressed?" He asked, hands sliding up my stomach.

"Well, I kinda need to go to school. And, you know, Mrs. Dawes assigned something this weekend and I need to make an extension." I stated, not wanting into the reason why.

"Fine," he said - clearly disappointed. "You know, we can talk if you want. About you're parents."

"I know," I said and tried to put my shirt on.

He turned me around, kissing me. "And if you need some place to stay, my door is always open."

"Thanks," I said. "But that would intail me knowing where you live. Which I don't."

"Are you hinting at something?" He teased, I smiled.

"Maybe."

"I take it you want to meet my parents?" He asked, I bit my lip and nodded.

"Well, later on. Right now, you need to cover those hickeys, and maybe fix your sex hair." He teased, I felt blood rush to my cheeks.

"Ohmygod! You gave me hickeys!" I complained, running to a mirror hanging on the wall.

The answere was, yes, Eli had given me very large and very dark hickeys. They were already turning a light purple, I groaned. He chuckled from behind me, I turned and glared, before smirking.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with a hickey," I teased. His smile dropped, then came to the mirror.

It marked the place between his shoulder and neck, and there was a faint distinction of teeth. I giggled, I didn't know I bit him _that _hard. He smirked, fingers lightly brushing it. I started upstairs, wanting to fix myself. I already put my shirt on and was at the top of the stairs when Eli said he would be waiting with Morty.

I went into the bathroom and immediatly caked on foundation over the various marks. There were three, one under my jawbone, the other on the left side of my neck, and the last on my collarbone. Each were the size of a quarter. But they were near invisible, if you weren't looking for them, you wouldn't notice the very faint purple. I fixed my hair as well and zipped out of the bathroom, only to bump into something soft.

Looking up, I readied myself to snap at Eli, but I froze. "Daddy?"

"Who is that boy?" He asked, my blood ran cold.

"He came to pick me up, I slept in." It wasn't a complete lie.

"That doesn't explain to me who he is, and why would he leave school twenty minutes after it started?" He asked, I gulped.

"Because he has study hall first block, and because that's what boyfriends do." I stated, walking past him.

"Don't you walk away from me!" He grabbed my arm painfully, I glared. His eyes were blood shot, hair a mess, and his breath was sour.

"You walked away from mom!" I snapped, immediatly regretting the words. I wanted to grab them and shove them back into my mouth, like I never spoke them.

"I didn't walk away from her!" He snapped. "Stop getting off subject! That _druggie_ is your boyfriend? I forbid it! What happened to that other boy? K.C., you know, the normal one! You floozy, one day your with that nice boy, the next your with that slum!"

"What? How could you say that? And you don't even know him, he's not a druggie. And K.C. had cheated on me. If anything you're the floozy, now let go!" I cried, trying to pull his tightening hand off my arm.

"You bitch!" He growled, pulling his free hand back and slapped me.

He let go and I stumbled back, hitting the hallway table. I moaned, blood dripping out of my mouth. I fell down, groaning, only to be kicked in the gut. My father chanted words - _whore, slut, bitch, cunt, fucker, floozy_ - anything that crossed his mind, and with each word came more pain. Tears rolled down my eyes, but I figured he had to stop eventually. And he did, picking me up by the collar, throwing me against a wall, and then pushing me with his foot. I feigned unconciousness, and he left.

When the door slammed shut, I cried openly, falling onto my side. I stayed like that for awhile, before the front door opened and Eli's worried cry for my name came from him. Ashamed, I stayed where I was, hoping he'd leave.

I was in too much pain to move, so I didn't have the strength to cringe away when someone touch my shoulder. There was a short gasp, pained, before the touch. So I guessed it was Eli, he had come upstairs.

"Clare! What the hell happen?" He asked, touching my cheek. I moaned in pain.

"Dad...drunk..." I managed.

"That fucking bastard," he grumbled. Then he lifted me into his arms, surprisingly. But, that didn't my whimpers from the movement. He brought me to my room and placed me on the bed, then kneeled by me.

"I'm going to call your mom, an-"

"You won't. Not yet. Just, ahh," I tried to sit up but fell back and coughed. Blood spurted from my lips, Eli growled.

"I'm calling her, and then 911. You're hurt," he groaned.

I was about to say 'no' when the front door was slammed open again. I heard my dad's yelling and my blood froze. Eli jumped up, fury clear in his eyes.

"Eli, lock the door!" I whispered harshly.

He did as told, cell phone already out, and dialing 911. I moaned, tears fresh in my eyes. How could this have happened? We were doing so great, and now this? My father pounded on the door, Eli having to yell into the phone himself to be heard. Soon enough, the cops were here. I heard the sirens and a silent tear fell down my cheek.


	15. Bruised

I didn't know what happened after the sirens from the police, I kept fading in and out. I was wheezing, it hurt to breath. Hell, everything just hurt in general - movement or not. The last thing I saw was Eli, and his bright green eyes. I hoped I slipped into unconciousness with a smile, instead of a grimance from pain.

But, now, I was in a hospital bed. I had a broken arm - my writing one - and two crack ribs. The only reason I was coughing blood was because I was coughing from a bruised lung and the blood in my mouth. So nothing was hurt majorly internally. My mom arrived as soon as I was brought in, from what she told me. My father was arrested for assault, and the doctors questioned me about the gash on my forehead - luckily when my mom stepped out of the room. And I flat out told him I was jumped with Eli, explaining his lip, but we got away and didn't know the people.

Eli stayed with me the entire time, chair pulled up beside my bed, holding my hand - kissing it every now and then. I had a permanent blush, because he'd do it no matter who was around - a.k.a especially when my mom was there. Right now, he left to go grab something I requested - of which I lied so I could talk to my mom.

"Who is he?" She asked as soon as he closed the door.

"Elijah Goldsworthy. He's in grade 11, an A student. He's smart, cute, funny, my English partner as well as my best friend and boyfriend." I said in one quick breath, my mother gasped, but stayed silent.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, thumb running across my cheek.

"Because you never asked," I teased - man was he rubbing off on me. "Sorry. You were busy. I hardly ever talk to you anymore, I mean, with you and dad fighting all the time. So I figured it didn't matter. I mean, not that he doesn't matter. He totally does. I really like him, mom, like really really like him. And you'll like him too. He doesn't go to church, and he may not seem like the saintliest person you'll meet, but I couldn't have found anyone better."

My mom was taken aback, eyebrows raised and her mouth in an 'O'. I tried not to giggle, when a sudden change in her expression went from surprised to confused.

"Honey, it does matter. Don't ever think you don't, or anything in your life doesn't. And I can't say I approve of him, he's no K.C. bu-" I cut her off.

"He's much, much better than K.C.," I snapped.

"I know you two broke up, though, I cannot fathom wh-"

"He cheated on me, then dumped me for Jenna. That's why." I commented, eyes glancing down.

"Oh, sweetie, oh my. Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, brows furrowing.

"Because, it was mine to deal with, and as much as it hurt then...I feel nothing now. And I'm glad it happened, because I wouldn't have found Eli." I said with a smile.

My mom smiled, then kissed my forehead, "Oh dear. Honey? I think you're in love." She giggled - yeah, my mom flat out giggled. I stared at her, unsure of what to say. Was I? Does he? We've only been dating for what, almost a week, I think. No way. Not yet, way too soon.

"Not yet, maybe, but not yet." I replied.

"Whatever you say." She replied, another giggle. "And, I want you to know that your father will never touch either of us again. We are going to press charges, and a divorce is set."

"Mom, we don't have to press charges." I said, reaching for her hand.

"Oh, yes we do. If we don't, the state will, and I want to see him squirm." She said, I shivered - this was so unlike her.

"Back. Everyone decent?" came Eli's voice. I giggled.

Unfortuntely, me and my mom were bothing smiling at him, causing him to stop and stare at us. "Am I missing something?"

"Just that we need to talk, in private." Said my mom, I tightened my grip on her hand.

"Mom!" I whispered harshly, I pulled her down. "Do not, I repeat, do _not_ ruin this for me."

"Of course not," she laughed. Then turned to Eli, "Come."

Eli ran up to me as my mom left the room, kissed me quickly and dropped off the drink I never really wanted. I grabbed his hand and pulled him back, he looked nervous. And, since Eli Goldsworthy rarely showed any emotion besides flirty, pleasured, sarcastic, and upset, I relished the dilated pupils and scared expression.

"No matter what she says, I'll be with you. So don't be so worried...I...I love you." I blurted, heat rising to my cheeks. His eyes widened, shocked, and I looked away. His index and thumb came under my chin, making me look into his gorgeous green eyes.

"I love you, too," he said. Then, his lips met mine. Now, we kissed plenty, but everytime we kissed it was like the first time. I'd get that intense - almost painful - spark of pleasure in my abdomen. And I sigh, tilt my head, wanting more.

He pulled away, much to my disappointment and I whimpered. "Don't want your mom to hate me before actually talking to me."

With that, he pecked my lips and casually walked out of the room, I smiled. I knew this was right, we were right. That this was going to last a long time, maybe, just maybe we'd be high school sweethearts. My smile widened.

* * *

They're conversation seemed to last forever, I flipped through the channels and nothing caught my interest. I pressed the nurses' button because I had to pee - which was near impossible with all these wires stuck in my body.

"Yes, Miss Edwards." Came a masculine voice - great, I have to pee and I get a male nurse to help me.

"I, uh, have to go." I muttered, blushing fiercly.

"Oh, alright. Hold on," he said. He came to me and carefully took off all my wires. While completeing this task, we talked - probably to distract me.

"So, you're here as an intern?" I asked Keith, that was his name.

"Yeah, I always liked helping people - even if all I get to do is pull out wires right now." He laughed, I giggled.

He was skinny, kind of reminded me of Wesley. Except, he wasn't skinny, he was lean. I saw the way the muscles in his arms moved, but he did have glasses and awfully pale skin. Then I blushed - remembering how I bit Wesley way back when.

"Alright, all clear, I'll wait outside. Call if you need anything." He said, helping me off the bed.

The hospital was cold, sending an icy shock up my calf bones. I scurries to the bathroom, trying to cover the cloth over my bottom. I stopped short after I heard a squeal - a very familiar squeal.

"Clare!" Shrieked Alli, running up to me. I put my good arm up. She looked like she had been crying, and like she was on the verge of it right now.

"I have to pee, and I'd appreciate it if there was no touching of my injured body - besides this arm," I said and waved my good arm. She gave me a weak smile.

"Of course," she said and hugged my good arm. I laughed.

"Wait out here," I said and went into the bathroom.

After much difficulty, I managed alright on my own. But, with my stupidity, I tried to use my hurt arm - causing me to wince. Thankfully, I was okay and in one piece - mostly - when I came out. I called Keith in, and noticed Eli and Alli were talking hurriedly.

"Clare, the nurse station buzzed me and they want my to check you since you're up." Said Keith, pulling the scope thing from around his neck.

He placed one hand on my front, and then the cold circular thing on my back. I shivered. He told me to breath for him, I winced when I took a very deep breath, but clenched my teeth and bared it. He then closed the curtain, saying he needed to check my front.

I blushed furiously when he asked me to take off the thin papery robe, and I complied. I undid the tie, blushing still, and looked away in embarrassment. He gaped, but I don't think it was the half-naked body. I had seen the deep dark bruises that marred my body. There was two purple welts on my gut, and a stain-like one marking my stomach and just under my left breast.

My arms had nothing serious, nor my legs, the real injuries were on my front. I gulped and looked away, feeling tears sting my eyes. Keith noticed and tried to comfort me, reassuring me that they would go away and I'd be fine.

"I just can't...believe someone would do that." He muttered, examening my injuries. I whimpered when he pressed a little too hard and he apologized. Then he made an 'ah-hah' sound and told me to wait here.

I heard Alli whisper a sharp 'No!' before I saw Eli pop his head in, just his head, with a smirk on his face. It dropped when he saw my stomach and gut, and horror had him striken. He looked from the marks, to my eyes, agony clear in his eyes.

"Clare..." His voice trailed, emerging his entire body into the closed space.

"You need to go, Keith is gonna be back any minute. Or my mom!" I said, trying to distract him.

"I don't care." He said, his hand coming to my stomach slowly - like he was scared.

"Eli..." I trailed off, catching his eyes.

"This is never, _ever_ going to happen. I won't let it, and I could've stopped it. I was right there! I was right fucking there!" His words were whispered, pained. He dropped so he was leveled with my stomach and kissed the bruises, feather light lips skimming my tender skin.

His head hung low, and something wet hit my foot. I bit my lip, not wanting to cry myself. He looked up, his eyes glittered with tears. He stood, and went to embrace me but I pushed him back - he always hugged too tightly. But this hurt him more, knowing he couldn't show affection.

"Go, Keith is gonna be right back. And, I'm sure but tomorrow I can go home." I said, placing my good hand on his cheek. He took his own and held my hand there, relishing my touch. He kissed my palm again and let me go. Then disappeared behind the curtain, and, as soon as the curtain settled Keith arrived with a large something in his hand. And then a tiny container in the other.

"This," he held up a jar. "Is my great grandmother's concotion. She was a gypsie, still is actually. She knows her herbs, and this is to numb skin. Like, if someone got a cut or a bruise or just sore muscles. A thin layer of this gel, and you're body absorbs it and numb that spot."

"And you just carry it around?" I asked, covering my chest nervously.

"Well, no. I brought it today because alot of my patients requested it. And I figured you could use this. I put some in this container - for when you go home. However many times you wish, it's made of harmless herbs. But I know you'll only need it twice - maybe three - times a day." He said and placed the container on the table beside the hospital bed. He opened the lid to the jar, placed it on the bed, and grabbed a rubber glove.

After applying a generous amount on my stomach, and even the random bruises on my back. I smiled, he was a savior. The pain was numbed and I was blissful. He smiled at me, then helped me put my robe back on. He plugged me back in, much to my discomfort. He tucked me in, I giggled. He acted like an older sibling - much like Darcy. Friendly and caring.

"Okay, everyone is decent," said Keith - pulling the curtain back. "Just buzz if you need me." And he left, closing the door behind him.

Alli hurried over to me, grin on her face. "Okay. That nurse/doctor guy is like so totally hot."

Eli grunted, disapproving, I giggled. Okay, I need to stop doing that, _stupid mom and her contagtious giggles_. "Who wants a doctor when I got a totally hot, smart, sarcastic guy right here?"

I knew I made his ego swell, bad idea, but I got a kiss on my good hand for it. I held back a giggle. _Good Clare_. "And who is this totally hot, smart, and sarcastic guy? I do see a sarcastic one, but he isn't smart nor hot."

"Alli..." I whispered, she gave me an apologetic look.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." She said, fake smile in place.

"Yeah. And I'd appreciate if you didn't slap him either. I heard you two fighting. Call a truce?" I asked, pouting.

Alli rolled her eyes, but extended her hand. Eli looked from her hand to me, then sighed. He grabbed it and they shook hands. I smiled. This was good, my family was slowly falling apart - or has it already? But, I still had two solids, Alli and Eli. Three if you count my sister. This was good...


	16. Stupid, Ignorant, Ruthless Boys

It's been three weeks since I left the hospital, I only had to stay that one night for observation. And, now, three dreadfully long weeks later I now had my arm back. Unfortunetly, they had to rebreak my arm twice - since it was healing to wrong way. I made my lip bleed on both occassions from biting it hard to stop from screaming. Bad habit, my lips were always tender from my teeth gnawing at them.

Around the second week back was when trouble started. And this kinda trouble started with an 'F', for Fitz. He snapped off the head ornimant on Morty, which pissed Eli off pretty badly. Along with that, Fitz started in on Adam - whom I've become incredibly close to. Not like I had with Eli, but with Alli - except with a guy. Plus, Fitz decided to kick Eli down...there. I got pissed of myself. And this week it had escalated, due to Eli's stupidity. I was walking towards the cafeteria to grab lunch before yearbook committee when I noticed Eli and Adam in the MI room.

I stuck my head in, straining my ears. All I caught was Adam saying some guys mouth was too something or I dunno, I bolted away when they started to get up. I shook my head, Eli was intense when he got angry, I knew he was reigning it too. Which was scary.

I was going to confront him after lunch but I never saw him in English, I didn't like that. Adam was there, so I started to scribble on a piece of paper and folded it, before handing it to Adam as Ms. Dawes turned away.

_Where's Eli?_

Adam furrowed his brows, quickly scribbling on the note. He tossed it to me when Ms. Dawes turned again.

_I don't know._

I sighed, something was up.

_Yes you do. I saw you two in the MI room. What is going on?_

I tossed it. Adam's eyebrows rose and looked at me. Then he shook his head.

_Just ask Eli. I'm sure he'll tell you._

After reading it, I gave up. Not knowing where Eli was, and Adam's quizical reply just made me frustrated. I wanted to just jump him and get the words out of him. Class went by, thankfully, and I hurried out of the room. I was headed to the Mr. Simpson's office, I had a feeling the little 'war' between had something to do with Eli missing.

"Clare!" Called Eli, I jumped - startled.

I turned to see a grinning Eli, lip busted once again. I frowned, he was so ignorant. I rushed over to him, hoping my glare would show my disappointment. He was so stupid! What the hell was he thinking?

"What the hell did you do?" I asked, my anger bursting.

"Wow, was that a swear? Shame, shame, Saint Clare." He teased. "I got into a little tussle with Fitzy-boy, cops showed up, and someone accidently put down a crimnals information on Fitzy's fake I.D."

"Eli!" I whined, lifting my hand to his lip and brushing my thumb over it.

"What? Worst scenario, he goes to court for possession of a fake I.D. and having to stay at the police station until things get worked out." Said Eli, grabbing my wrist. "Kiss it better?"

"No." I stated and turned away, crossing my arms.

"Clare...?" Eli questioned me, hand on my shoulder. "I'm so-"

He was cut short, I turned around to see him slumped against the lockers, holding his jaw. I saw Fitz, fists raised and eyes burning. He went for a kick but I pushed him, making him stumble onto the ground. As annoyed and disappointed as I was with Eli, I didn't want him hurt, he was my boyfriend after all.

"Nice. You get you're girlfriend to step in for you," laughed Fitz.

I marched over to him, he was standing now, and glared down at me. "Do you _want_ me to bring up what happened last month? How you got _drunk_ and assaulted both me and Eli?"

"Ha, like you said, it was a month ago. You have no proof." He snarled, I glared.

"You're a _disgusting_," I poked his chest, making him back up. "_low-life, piece of shit, scum-bag, bastard_! You think you're cool? No one likes you, just because you act all tough and beat on people weaker than you. It's pathetic. You're low, really really low. I'm surprised you even made it this far in life. Why don't you just do everyone here a favor and drop out?"

He was against the lockers now, eyes wide. But they darkened with each insult, I glared at him. "Why don't you hit me? Huh? I know you want to. I see it. In you're disgusting, putrid face. Do it!"

He snapped, growling, his hand came up to my neck and rammed me into lockers. Fist coming back, he hit my face. I snickered, it was a hard punch and I knew there would be a bruise. "And now, I have my proof."

He let go, realization struck him. I let out a groan, slumping onto the ground and held my damaged jaw. People crowded around us, he stepped back, knowing he was going to get it. "You bitch." He muttered, hand coming back, but was caught by Drew and another guy from the football team.

"And you're a pig." I retorted.

"Clare!" It was Eli, he fell forward and he snarled. I felt blood drip from my lip, a steady thrum of pain following it.

He got up, looking at Fitz, he lunged at him - only to be caught by two other football players. I knew both, it was K.C. and Riley. Someone touched my shoulder, it was Alli and behind her was Adam.

"What is going on?" Demanded Mr. Simpson, he looked at me with wide eyes, and then to Fitz. I swore he growled.

"Fitz hit Eli, then he hit Clare." Yelped Alli, taking out a tissue from her bag and touching my lip.

"Is that true?" He asked Fitz, eyes narrowing.

Fitz didn't answer, he just glared daggers at me. I winced audibly as Alli wiped my lip again, she apologized and cradled my head - she knew this was partly an act. I grabbed a tissue and coughed, blood spurting. I heard harsh whispers and saw deadly glares directed at Fitz. I knew this war was far from over, but this battle was a marvelous victory.

"You, my office. _Now_!" Commanded Mr. Simpson, then he looked at Eli and nodded his head back. "Alli, take Clare to the nurses office and then to my office."

She nodded, Adam stood in front of me with a sad expression and extended his arm. I took it and stood, only to wobble back into the lockers as black spots danced across my eyes. Something strong wrapped around my torso, then my legs. I was lifted up into K.C.'s arms, much to my discomfort.

"K.C. you have no right touching her. Put her down!" Growled Alli, clearly refering to last month's jump.

"And what? Are you going to carry her? She hit the back of her head against a locker, she's not going to be able to do much of anything." He stated, with that said I finally noticed the throb of pain on the back of my head.

"Alli, drop it. And K.C. as soon as we get to the nurses office, leave." I said. "But thank you."

"Anytime." He winked.

* * *

"Elijah Goldsworthy, you may see Principal Simpson now!" Came the secretaries voice, he nodded and stood solemly. As he walked to the door, Fitz stepped out, they bumped shoulders.

"_Watch yourself_." He whispered, Eli growled.

Eli went into the Principal's office, taking a seat and stared at him blankly. All Eli could see was Clare, lip bloodied and her eyes drooping. Fitz was going to pay, he had crossed the line. He had fucking destroyed the line.

"...two weeks detention..." Caught Eli's attention.

"_Detention?_" Eli breathed out.

"Well yes, it was cle-"

"I didn't do _anything_. Okay. Fitz started it, he came up to me and punched me. Then Clare stopped him, got into his face, then he picked her up and slammed her into the lockers. And _punched_ her." He yelled, fists clenching painfully.

"He's getting suspension - for a week, and once he gets back there's going to be monday-through-friday detention for two weeks, not you." Laughed Mr. Simpson. Eli felt his cheeks burn.

"Oh."

"Honestly, I wish you did something. But you didn't hear that from me." He whispered and chuckled. Eli smirked.

* * *

"Nothing too serious, are you sure you're alright?" Asked the nurse, I nodded. "Alright, but when you get home, be sure to ice it."

I hurried out of the nurses office, Alli close behind. "Mind filling me in?"

"Well...let's see. Fitz has been bullying Eli and Adam. Eli made a fake I.D. for Fitz - with the information from a criminal. Fitz was pissed, punched Eli, I stepped in, got punched and here we are now." I let out in one breath, fast walking down the hall.

"What has happened to you, Clare? I mean, you were already serious hurt - just now healing. Do you like pain or something?" She asked, heels clicking fastly as she tried to keep up with me.

"No, it's not like I wanted to get jumped by K.C. and Fitz and Bianca. It's not like I wanted my father to beat me. It's not like I wanted Fitz to punch me - well, actually I did, but not because I like pain. It just happened, no one could do anything. But it's okay. Now you can go to class, I'm at the office." I said, pushing the door open.

Fitz was sitting in the farthest corner, and when he saw me, he tensed. I sneered in his direction and took the seat closest to the door. I feigned a whimper as I touched my cheek - earning a sad glance from the secretary and then a evil glare Fitz. The secretary gave a disgusted look at Fitz but went back to work.

"The Principal will see you now." Said the secretary, getting up and opening the door for me.

"Thank you," I said and got up. Eli came out, saw me and grabbed me.

"Are you okay?" He asked, hand cupping my cheek.

"Yes, I'm fine. For the most part." I said, wrapping my arms around his chest. "Kiss it better?"

He chuckled and gave me a quick kiss on my lips, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. Someone cleared their throat and we jumped back, getting a sympathtic look from the secretary. I blushed and looked down, then up to Eli.

"Wait for me?" I asked.

"Always." He smirked, starting to walk to the seats.

"Don't do anything stupid," I commented before closing the door.

"Clare, I mean, Miss Edwards." Said Mr. Simpson. I laughed. "How are you?"

"I've been through worse." I stated, taking a seat in front of him.

"Well, he's getting a suspension and two weeks of detention when he gets back. Do not hesitate to get me if anything else is to happen when he gets back." He said, face serious.

"Will do." I said, itching to leave.

"Okay, you can go." He said. I nodded and got up, extrememly overjoyed.


	17. Hallmark Moments

The week without Fitz was about the best thing that could've happened, in my opinion. I didn't realize what a strain he was until he was gone, and things seemed to go back to normal. Eli picked me up at exactly eight, walk me to class and depart with a long kiss, cuddle during lunch and then go to the Dot after school. But, good things don't always last, for me they don't.

The week Fitz came back, well, let's just say the tension in the air was so thick - I could cut it with a knife. I saw him casually leaning against the fence in the parking lot with his friends - it didn't seem to bother them that he had beat a girl. May I add the cut on my lip was just healing and I swear one of my teeth moved a little too much. Anyways, as Eli parked far away, I could feel his eyes on me, he wanted revenge and I knew it.

But, I ignored him, as best I could. Eli and Adam were a fair enough distraction - Eli more than enough. But, Alli seemed to distance herself once her whole Drew infatuation went on a new level. Funny, she's almost best friends with Jenna now. She was the one who didn't like her to begin with - and now I hate her and she loves her. Ironic. It stung alot to be honest, wondering how she could be friends with a boyfriend stealer.

I was snapped out of my daze as warm arms wrapped around me, I smiled, turning my lock to my locker. Eli's warm breath fanned across my bare neck, making my body tingle. He nuzzled my neck and I giggled, after opening my locker, I turned around and hugged him.

"Okay, I need to stop walking in on your moments, it's all Hallmark-y." Commented Adam, I giggled.

"I think it's your turn to find a girl," I stated - then blushed.

One of the reasons Fitz had picked on Adam was because...well... Adam was born as Gracie. She - or _he_ - was born in a girl's body. And, honestly, I didn't care. Not that I didn't care about him, it's just that it makes no difference to me. Adam is Adam - plain and simple. Drew had gotten envolved, only to be beaten by Fitz. Man, he was such an _ass_!

"I'm looking, but I don't think anyone would want me since the secrets out." He said, hanging his head.

I released Eli and gave Adam a hug, reassuring him, "You'll find her. I promise. Besides, there are girls outside of Degrassi. I don't think you'll want a cheerleader - they're kinda gross. And girls like Bianca are way too skanky for you. And the only decent girl is Alli - whose occupied with a certain guy."

He smiled at me, and I let go. I jumped when someone ran into me, skinny arms wrapping around my torso. I winced, and turned around to see an apologetic Alli. I raised an eyebrow and she jumped up and down excitedly.

"What?" I asked.

"Drew and I are official. Check it out." She squealed, lifting her bangs. I heard the whole 'labels' thing from her, and I couldn't help but giggle. She hugged me, bouncing, before waving good-bye because she was meeting up with Drew. I rolled my eyes.

"Sometimes I think she's going to hurt herself from being so happy and jumpy." I said, turning around to see Eli smirking. "What?"

"Nothing. I'm just wondering why you weren't that bouncy when we first got together." He stated, I blushed.

"Because how would you like me going up to everyone I know and yelling that I was dating _Elijah Goldsworthy_." I said, closing my locker.

"Hm, true. Plus, it's not really your style." He said, draping an arm around my shoulder.

"Hey, you guys, I have to go and..." Adam's voice trailed off.

I turned my head around, concerned that he just seemed to disappear. I furrowed my brows, there was a little nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach. I brushed it off and started down the hall with Eli.

* * *

Adam walked away, not wanting to gag from Clare and Eli's overbearingly sweet flirting. He hated himself, he really did. For alot of things, but the one most prominant was the affection he was growing. For Clare. With his mind stuck deep into self-pity, he didn't notice the fast approaching figure. Suddenly, he was on his butt, as was the girl he bumped into.

She sat up, hand on her head. Fiona Coyne. Adam blushed, averting his eyes. Fiona got up, wiping her hands off on her skirt and offered Adam a hand. He took it, relishing the cool, soft flesh of her hand.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean t-"

"No worries." She smiled, then looked him over. "Are you new here?"

"No." Adam replied, feeling crestfallen.

"I knew you looked familiar. I'm sorry. I'm not really one for faces." She replied, placing a slender hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay. I blend in." He said, shrugging it off.

"Well, why don't I make it up to you? Lunch at the Dot tomorrow?" She asked, Adam stared at her wide-eyed.

"S-sure." He stammered out, she smiled.

"Great. See you then." She remarked, walking off with a sway of her hips.

He couldn't believe it, Adam Torres was having lunch with _Fiona Coyne_! She was a senior, smart, gorgeous to say in the least, and _she_ asked _him_ to eat lunch with her. He felt like he was on cloud nine the rest of the day, the tiny "crush" he had on Clare soon squashed.

* * *

Adam kept zoning out in English, and I tried to contain my giggles at his expression. She knew when someone was crushing - glazed eyes, tiny smile, and always dazing out. He had his chin nestled in his palm, gaze intent on nothing in particular. I poked him as Ms. Dawes turned away, causing to twitch and blush furiously after eralizing he had gotten caught. His gaze fell to the desk, cheeks crimson.

As he dazed off again, I poked Eli. Then pointed to Adam. He raised an eyebrow, confused. Of course, guys didn't know the since of crushing. They were too oblivious. I rolled my eyes and he turned around.

I took out a piece of paper, scribbled '_someone's got a crush_!', then tossed it as Ms. Dawes turned away again. He twitched again, I stifled another giggle. Then, as he read the note, his cheeks turned a bright read. He replied hurriedly, scribbling fast. Then waited for the teacher to turn away.

_say's who?_

I rolled my eyes, and started to write back but the bell rang. I grabbed Adam's sleeve, preventing him from running off. I smiled at the bright blush still on his cheeks. He waited for me to gather my stuff, Eli just leaned against the desk - clearly confused.

"So...who is she?" I asked, Adam's eyes widened.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He stated coldly, I smiled devilishly.

"Oh, you do. You were zoning out all class." I giggled, picking my stuff up and walking out of the room.

He hung his head low, trying to cover teh blush. Eli stuck his hand in my back pocket, I did the same with his and snuggled closer. Adam stopped with us at my locker, but he was clearly distracted.

"Is there something you guys aren't telling me?" Asked Eli.

"Adam's got a crush." I stated in a sing-song voice, Eli chuckled.

"Do not!" Responded Adam, I giggled.

"Come on. Who is she?" I asked.

"You won't believe this but...when I left, I bumped into Fiona - literally - and we both fell back. We talked, and she asked me to have lunch with her at the Dot tomorrow." He said simply, head low.

I beamed. "_Finally_."

"Well, don't get too happy. It's just a lunch, for aquiantences, nothing more." He said, I rolled my eyes.

"_Whatever_. If I asked a guy to lunch, it would mean something. It means I like him, and I want to get to know him. Or be around him." I said nonchantly.

"So how come you never asked _me_ to lunch?" Asked Eli, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. I blushed.

"Well, you were kinda always there, I never had to ask." I said, Eli nuzzled my neck.

"I think I'm gonna go. You guys are getting all Hallmark-y again." Said Adam, walking off to his next class.

Eli started nibbling on my neck, I blushed and tried to ignore the warm tingly feeling it gave me. Instead I focused on my locker, smiling. The door had random photos of me and Alli, me and Darcy, me and Adam and Eli, and me and Eli. The photos of her and Eli were slightly growing - the one she liked most was one Adam had taken of them by surprise. Since he was into photography, he went around on an assignment for art. Capture the lives of strangers, without them knowing.

This one was in black and white. Eli had snuck up behind me, as usual, arms wrapped around my waist and swinging me. I was laughing, eyes closed and a wide open smile - shrieking in happiness as he lifted me. Somehow, he managed to keep the things that were red in the picture. My lips, the almost hidden '_Dead Hands_' on Eli's shirt, and the ruby necklace Eli had gotten me for our one month.

My hand touched the picture gently, I was getting sucked into the memory. I was brought back by Eli biting my neck a little too hard. I yelped and dropped my hand, then turned around in his arms. He smiled down at me.

"So what do you think?" He asked, a small shade of pink on his cheeks.

"Think of what?" I asked, confused.

"Coming to my house. This weekend. To meet my parents." He said, pulling me closer.

"I'd love to!" I beamed.

"Okay. Pick you up at five? For dinner? Saturday?" He asked, I nodded with a wide smile.


	18. Meeting the Parents

My stomach knotted, today was Saturday and I still didn't know what I was going to wear. I threw my clothes out of my closet and drawers - not finding anything that should be good enough. Should I go casual - just a tee and pants? Or sort of dressy - a summer dress? I asked Eli and he said be myself. Great help that was, the rest of the week was killing me. Not knowing what to expect. I loved Eli, but I secretly hoped his parents didn't have his quick sarcastic attitude.

"This skirt? No, no skirts. Makes me a floozy. Maybe this? No, too slummy." I groaned. I had nothing to wear. And it was three-thirty! I went back into my closet, pushing aside hangers and biting my lip painfully. "No sweatshirts, no dresses. A button-up? Or a designed blouse?"

I groaned again, and this time I got the attention of my mom passing by. "Are you okay?"

"No! I have nothing to wear!" I moaned, falling down on my bed in defeat. I rolled over - getting poked by hangers - and buried my head into my pillow to scream.

"Here. I'll help." She said, I stayed on my bed. "Oh, honey! How's this?"

I tilted my head, glancing at what she pulled out. It was a baby blue baby doll mini dress with a white design crawling up to the top and white leggings. I shook my head. Too floozy-ish. She humphed and went back searching. After a few failed attempts, she finally pulled out something decent. It was a thin white spaghetti strap top with tiny black dots and a silver belt for the waist, then a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a short sleeved knit mini jacket.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." I chanted, launching myself at the outfit. I took a quick shower, dryed my hair and straightened it. I did my make-up quickly, just light eyeliner and dusty white eyeshadow. I threw my outfit on and added a black headband, my ruby necklace, and a pair of black flats.

I hurried downstairs, seeing as it was four-fifty. Eli lived closer to school, which meant it was far from where I lived. I checked myself in the mirror, biting my glossy lip worriedly. Then my attention was averted to my necklace. It was on a simple silver chain, and the pendant was a silver cross with a giant ruby in the center. It had belonged to his grandmother, of which was given to by his grandfather.

There was a knock on my door, I jumped - startled. But, after recovering, I answered it. Eli jumped from one foot to the other with his head down, seemingly nervous. He looked up, his eyes widened and I frowned. Then groaned.

"I over-dressed!" I groaned, starting to walk away.

Eli grabbed my wrist, causing me to be pulled into him. "No, you're not. You look great. My parent's are going to love you."

I smiled up at him, his green eyes glittered mischiveously. He interlaced his hand with mine and pulled me with him out of the house. I called a good-bye to my mom and shut the door behind me. He opened the door for me and I smirked.

"Such a gentleman, Mr. Goldsworthy." I remarked, he smirked back.

"Only for you," he said. Then lifted my hand to kiss my knuckle - causing me to blush.

He hurried to the other side, getting in to Morty and starting it. Immediatly, loud metal music started and I jumped involuntarily. Eli chuckled and turned it down - just barely. But the loud music distracted me during the ride. Loud music + frantic mind = peace. I could barely hear myself think, which was good, because I was calm up until Eli pulled into his driveway.

"It's..." I didn't want to finish.

"I'm guessing you were thinking of something a little darker. Spookier?" He asked, I blushed. That was _exactly_ what I was expecting.

"N-no. You're home is nice though." I stammered, but pushed it off.

It was nice. Reminded me of my own house, except everything was on the left, instead of the right. There were steps up to a dark hardwood door, with little windows of it and a tiny mailbox hung next to it. There was a large window - for the living room I guessed - and a large tree in front of it. I peered up to see the second story, seeing two then one on the other wall. The walls were made of uneven bricks, from shades of light grey to dusty brown. Then it was paneled from the second story up and on the sides of the house.

He opened the door for me, and offered a hand. I noticed he was dressed...nicer. Tight black pants with a studded belt still, but he wore a plain white button-up with the sleeves rolled up and his nails cleaned. I was glad he didn't slick back his hair or anything. After I got out of Morty, I ran my hand through it, and quickly kissed him. I took his hand and we went to his door. He stopped me before going in.

"I must warn you, my mom is going to be all over you." He said, I glanced at him nervously.

"Why?" I asked.

He opened the door, not replying to my question, I grew nervous. His house was nice, a small mirror at the front door with a table in front of it. Behind the door was a coat rack with various items. He kept his hand in mine as we went further in. I was right about there being a living room. It even had a fireplace, and there was a giant screen television above it. The furniture was old and rustic, but very clean.

"Elijah? Is that you?" Came a smooth voice, a woman's.

I looked over to see a large doorway leading into a kitchem. I saw a woman with deep chocolate brown hair working on preparing a meal. She was gorgeous, with piercing green eyes and high cheekbones. She had a smile that seemed to stay on her face no matter what, and her eyes crinkled slightly. She wore a blue dress, hair up in a ponytail with giant pearls in her ears and around her neck.

"Yeah." Replied Eli, pulling me along.

Between the living room and the kitchen looked like a dining area with a large dark wood table with eight chairs. On the right wall were stairs leading up and disappearing suddenly, I saw someone going up.

"So, you must be Clare!" Chattered Mrs. Goldsworthy, I smiled.

"Yes. It's so nice to meet you." I said, holding out a hand.

She took my hand and shook it, brown eyes sparkling. "Eli's told me so much about you, you are definitly one of his better girlfriends."

Eli tensed, like his mother struck a nerve. I looked at him curious, he shook himself and loosened his very tight grip on my hand. I turned back to his mother who had a sad expression on her face, before pushing it away and started up again.

"Well, you're father went to grab Henry from practice and John is up in his room. Dinner will be ready shortly. Why don't you get your brother?" Suggested Mrs. Goldsworthy, smile never fading.

"Sure." He said, letting go of my hand.

_No! He's leaving me alone!_ I shivered. I turned my attention back to Mrs. Goldsworthy who was fiddling with something on the stove. I stayed glued to the spot, unsure of what I should be doing. Or saying.

"Clare, dear, would you be a sweetie and help me?" She asked, turning her smiling face towards me.

"Uh, s-sure." I said and hurried over to her.

"Would you mind sturring this? And adding just a smidge of seasoning while I get the ham out of the oven." She said, pointing to the pot of what looked like gravy.

"Okay. Um, Mrs. Goldsworthy, should I add just salt and pepper or would you like me to add something else?" I asked, looking around the black marble counter.

"Please, call me Anna. And yes to the salt and pepper, and there should be some thyme right beside you." She stated, opening a large silver oven.

"How about some garlic powder, my grandmother used to add it to her's all the time." I rambled, blushing.

"Oh, that's a wonderful idea. Do you cook?" She asked, enthused.

"Well, I used to with my grandmother. And I can bake pretty well. What with all the fundraising for church." I snapped my mouth closed and started to add seasoning.

"That's lovely. Have you finished you're communion?" She asked, I nodded. "He may not look like it but Elijah has as well."

I started giggling as Eli's mom whispered that into my ear. She was so _nice_! And sweet. I quickly warmed up to her, and we talked away while finishing the supper. It seems we were only talking for a few minutes until Eli came back down with a taller guy behind him. His hair was a dirty blonde and his eyes were brown. There was a slight shade on his face and he was alot bigger than Eli.

"So, where's your girlfriend?" Asked the big guy, I blushed.

"Hi, I'm Clare." I said, waving.

"Dude, _that's_ your girlfriend. She-" he was cut off as Eli jabbed him in the stomach.

"Boys! We have company." Snapped , I mean, Anna.

"I know but I expected someone a little more...ugly. And creepy." Said the blond, I take it he was John.

"Shut up!" Snapped Eli, glaring at him. I kept my head down, blushing fiercly.

"Okay. Okay. But, gotta say, good job." John said, winking at me.

"Johnathan Goldsworthy, do I have to repeat myself?" Anna said, arching an eyebrow.

"No ma'am." He stiffened, I held back a giggle.

Here was this big, burly guy. And as soon as small Mrs. Goldsworthy snaps at him, he backs down like a puppy. Now I know where Eli gets it from. I went back to ladeling the gravy into a small pourer, the guys retreated into the living room while we talked.

"I apologize for Johnathan. He's a thick-headed boy. Gets it from his father." She laughed and I joined.

"We're back!" Announced an excited voice.

I turned around to see a small boy in a blue soccer jersey run into the house, boucing up the stairs. I guessed that was Henry, and the man following would be Eli's step-father. He had bright blonde hair and deep brown eyes, and he was big. He wore a blue work button-up and black dress pants with a jacket slung over his shoulder. He looked like a guy out of the magazines, with a slight stuble of a beard on his square jaw.

"Honey, this is Clare." Said Anna, gesturing towards me.

"Well, definitly unexpected." He said, wide-eyed then recovered with a stiff handshake to me. His hands were huge!

"I'm good in here, sweetie. Why don't you go into the living room." She said, I nodded.

I walked out of the kitchen and past the dining room. As I was walking around the giant couch, someone hurdled into me, knocking me onto the couch and face first into someone's lap. Whatever hit me quickly jumped off me and I sat up quickly - well, pushed myself up since I was on my stomach. Then was horrified to see that I had planted my face onto John's crotch.

"Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod." I yelped, pushing myself off the couch and scrambling away from an amused John.

"Knew she couldn't resist me." He chuckled, my face burned.

"I, uh, gotta go!" I announced and scurried out of the house.

"Clare!" Yelled Eli, running after me.

Since he was taller, his strides were longer, easily catching me. I only made it a few feet from his house. Tears pricked my eyes, that was so humiliating! I can't believe that just happened! I struggled against his hold, my cheeks burning in embarrassment.

"I just royally fucked that up!" I remarked, calming down slightly.

"Clare! Such language!" He teased, pulling me into a hug.

"I'm serious. I had my face in your brother's crotch." I moaned, looking up at his blank face. Then his well worked smile cracked through.

"Because Henry ran into you. He always dives for the couch. You just so happened to be in his way. It's alright." He soothed, petting my hair. "Now, c'mon. Supper is getting cold."

I nodded, and as he started to pull away, I tightened my grip. "Thanks."

"Anytime." He said, wiping away a stray tear.

He leaned down, and I pushed myself up. Our lips met briefly, a quick chaste kiss to calm my frazzled nerves. He grazed his knuckles along my cheek to my neck and pulled away, smiling his cocky smile. I took a deep breath and followed him back inside, my insides twisting nervously. John was on the couch next to the small boy from earlier - Henry. They stared at the television - hockey, of course.

"Henry. John. Ahem!" Snapped Mr. Goldsworthy, he was sitting in one of the smaller seats - reading the paper.

"I've got nothing to apologize for." Stated John, ignoring us.

"Hi, Clare, sorry I ran into you." Said Henry, batting his green eyes.

"It's okay." I said, cautiously walking into the living room.

Eli pulled me over to the loveseat, putting his arm around my shoulder as I snuggled in closer. Just as I started to relax, slightly daydreaming with Eli's musky smell, Anna called us in for supper. I got pulled to sit inbetween Henry and John, Eli directly across from me. On the ends were Anna and Mr. Goldsworthy.

Throughout the dinner, I was plagued with questions. About what I did for fun, my past, my potential future. My interests and dislikes, and how much I liked a certain thing or disliked something. In the process, I learned that Henry was ten amd entered sixth grade. John was in his freshman year of college. Anna was an at-home business woman, and Mr. Goldsworthy worked in a law-firm in town. Eli had filled me in that, after his mom had gotten herself onto her feet, she met his step-father. Eli was around six when they dated and seven when they got married. Mr. Goldsworthy adopted him as his own, and John was from a previous marriage.

First year of marriage, they had Henry. And it was like they were all really a family, and I couldn't help but feel a small prick of jealousy. My family was all related, no knocking-up, and previous marriages - and now we're in ruins. But they were all ruined from the start, and now, they were perfect. I snapped out of my daze as Eli's foot grazed up a little too high.

"We decided to move for a change of scenery. This part of town is so quiant, and the price was fanominal. What part of town are you from?" She asked, forking a piece of brocolli.

"Well, it's in the west district. Not that far from the park or anything else really. Ten, maybe fifteen talk to anything. Like the Dot or school even." I said, pushing around my food.

I was partly distracted the whole time, Eli decided to play footsies and I tried not to kick him when he went a little too high. Thankfully, the ordeal was over with quickly - or not so. Turns out it was nine o'clock by the time we finished cleaning.

"It was such a pleasure meeting you, darling. Please come by again." She said, I shook her hand.

"Will do. I had a great time." I said, smiling.

I tried not to hurry out the door, my nerves immediatly untangled when I slid into Morty. Eli chuckled and started down the road. My cell phone went off, my mom was calling.

"_Honey. Are you almost done?_" Came my mom's voice.

"Yes. Hey, I was wondering. Would you mind if I stay out until eleven? I wanna catch a movie with Eli." I lied, guaging his reactiong. He smiled.

"_Sure thing. Did you have a good time?_" She asked.

"Great. And thank you." I said, trying to ignore Eli's hand ghosting over my thigh.

"_Alright. Well, I expect you home no later than eleven._" She said, then hung up.

"Are we really going to the movies?" He asked, hand sliding higher.

"We are. Unless you have a better idea?" I asked, pushing his hand back down.


	19. Heated Hearse

Eli wanted to go to the park, but I pointed out what happened last time. And how Fitz wasn't all that friendly with us. So, we decided to go to Above the Dot. I really needed to loosen up after all that tension. Eli's obnoxiously loud music blared, but it changed to one I knew. From Nickelback - one of the bands K.C. had introduced me to. At the thought of K.C. I shivered. I heard the rumors, of Jenna. Of K.C. junior. And that was why Jenna and him broke up.

"You okay?" He asked, taking a free hand to take one of mine.

"Yeah, just...disgusted." I stated, he started to pull his hand away. I kept my grip on his. "Not at you. At K.C. and everything. I don't know if you heard the rumors, but K.C. and Jenna broke up. Because she's pregnant."

Eli tensed when I mentioned they broke up. "And that concerns you...?"

"Doesn't concern. Just disgusts. I mean, how could you abandon someone like that? When it's partially their fault." I said, tightening my hand. "Would you ever do that?"

"C-Clare. Of course not! Besides, I didn't know you would want sex before marriage. What with your abstinence ring?" He stammered, shocked. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"I don't believe in waiting until marriage to be honest. Why should I bother? My parents are split, my father's in jail. I think that, if I met someone who I truly love, and they love me back - why not?" I said.

"Saint Clare!" He teased, I smiled.

We parked a little ways away from the Dot and walked our way to the club, Eli's arm around my shoulder and my hand in his back pocket. My pulse quickened when we passed the spot in the alley where we first kissed. Eli seemed to notice and surprisingly pushed me against the wall, smirking.

"Eli!" I yelped, staring widely at him.

"Yes?" He asked, moving his lips to my ear.

I shivered, eyes rolling in the back of my head as he started to kiss my neck. My hands wandered up his chest to his neck, then his hair. He growled, pushing himself against me. I gasped. His mouth went to mine, kissing me roughly - like that night so many weeks ago. We hadn't done anything real physical since that morning, just small kisses. And the occassional make-out that was stopped as soon as a friend of ours walked to us.

His mouth was hungry, for what, I didn't know. He just greedily sucked on my lower lip, growling as I tugged at his hair. His hand slid down my side to my thigh, then hitched it around him. I did the same with the other, locking my ankles behind him. He used the wall for leverage, hands resting on my bottom. He attacked my neck, nipping the skin - getting more aggressive with each whimper I made.

He jerked his hips up, meeting mine. I bit my lip, stifling a moan. He did it again, harder. I moaned this time, coming out a long sigh in his ear. He groaned and proceeded to make a rhythm out of his jerks. His hard-on hit me continuously, grinding against me deliciously. His motions got faster, his lips stopping their attack on my neck. All he seemed to be focused on was his thrusts.

"Eli..." I moaned, he let out another groan.

His breath was hot in my ear, his grunting causing me to moan. He growled, suddenly stopping. I whimpered, clearly disappointed. He set me down, and I grabbed the collar of his shirt - pulling him in for another kiss. He groaned, almost giving in. But he pushed me away, turning around and very jittery walking back and forth.

"Eli...?" I asked.

"Sorry. But I'd rather us not get caught humping right here. This does lead to the club, and people do come by here." He apologized, coming back over to me.

"Well...we could always go back to Morty." I suggested, standing up on my toes to nuzzle his neck.

"Morty it is." He announced, dragging me back to his hearse.

We tried very hard not to attack each other on the way there, and it was cute how he tried to cover the very obvious hard-on. He opened the back, I scurried in, and he shut it. Then jumped on me, lips attaching to my neck. I let out a breathy moan, toes curling.

His hips dug into mine, his excitement clearly shown. He stubbornly tried to take my shirt off, the mini jacket and belt making it near impossible. We managed to get it off, leaving me in my unflattering bra once again. He stopped his actions, his flickering across my healing stomach. He moved his mouth down, nipping at the sensitive skin of my exposed breast. Then lower, kissing my still tender skin.

His fingers skimmed over my wounds, tickling me slightly. He kissed his way back up to my mouth, his touches turning gentle. I let out a moan as he teasingly pushed himself against me. Frustrated, I started on his shirt, just wanting to rip the whole thing off. Once the last button was un-done, Eli shrugged it off and went back to kissing me. It was slow, passionate. Not like his previous fiery kisses.

His hand trailed down and played with the button on my pants, I grabbed his wrist. I eyed him, curious. He stared at me intently, eyes locking with mine. Confused, I let go of his wrist but continued to stare at him.

"Eli..." I started.

"I'm not going to have sex with you." He said all the while pulling down my zipper.

He tugged my pants off, my flats coming off with them. And now I was left in my unflattering white bra and white lace panties. He moved back to my neck, kissing me teasingly, then nipping. I moaned, unsure of what he was planning.

His hands went to his own pants and started to un-do the button to his own. I blushed furiously, trying to distract myself. I had never seen a guys..._thing_. And I kinda wanted to keep it that way. Alli had decided to teach me sex-ed after the whole vibrator thing. And I knew the basics, and tried very hard to not listen to her go into detail of the other forms of sex. And I refused to be shown what exactly was there. I shuddered involuntarily, Eli smirked - probably thinking it was because of him.

With his pants down, he was at his full glory, pressing against me. I moaned, nails digging into his back. He seemed to enjoy it, and thrust up to me. I moaned loudly, the only barrier being the fabric of our underwear. So close. He grinded against me, eliciting a moan from us. He set a rhythm, going faster and harder. He undid my bra, throwing it randomly in the small space and bent his head to play with my breast.

His lips kissed it gingerly, trailing up to my nipple. He exaggarated his licking by thrusting against me with each flick of his tongue. His teeth graze me, teasing me. Somehow, I had wrapped my legs around his waist and I kept meeting his thrusts. His lips attached to my breast. I moaned, nails scratching their way up his back. His hips dug into mine frantically, lips moving to my mouth for a fiery kiss.

The coil in my abdomen returned, winding tightly. I felt hot, bothered, anxious. I kept calling Eli's name, begging. For what, I don't know. What I did know was his lips hungrily kissing mine. And the lovely feeling of 'Little Eli' grinding into me. I was panting, low and short quick bursts of air. I moved my mouth to his neck, clutching to him frantically, and bit him once again. He moaned, my name falling from his lips.

My foggy mind went to my vampire fanfiction for Fortnight. I blushed, then smiled. I grazed my teeth over his skin towards his main artery, then teasingly nipped him. He responded with a choked pant. I ran my tongue over the nipped skin, then repeated this process until I felt the Eli tense against me.

"Clare..." He moaned, slumping against me.

I stopped my teasing and looked at him - disappointed he had stopped. I suddenly noticed something leaking onto my thigh and I blushed furiously. Eli tilted his head up, which had been resting on my chest. I smiled awkwardly, still feeling embarrassed that I just made Eli...well, you know. Eli moved up, placing his forearms on either side of my head and kissed me.

His nibbled on my bottom lip, and suddenly feeling shy, I opened my mouth slowly. He slid his tongue in, fighting mine. I won, getting to explore his hot mouth. Eli trailed one of his hands down, slipping inbetween the fabric of my panties. Surprised, I jumped as his finger started rubbing me. I moaned against his lips, pressing myself against him. He slipped his hand lower, middle finger sliding into me.

"Eli. Ah!" I gasped, his finger started moving.

I let out tiny moans and whimpers, pressing myself against him. The coil returned, getting tighter and less pleasing. It hurt, in an almost good way. I kept my hands on Eli's shoulders, clutching and clawing the skin involuntarily. He mouth slid to my ear, speaking sweet nothings in my ear. The sweet nothings turned to dirty words, egging me closer as they spiked something in me.

"Say my name," he whispered and slowed his pace.

"Eli..." I whimpered, bucking my hips.

"Louder." He ordered, his thumb teasing me.

"Eli.." I said it louder, above a whisper.

"I want you to scream it." He commanded, lips sucking on my neck.

And as the coil sprung loose, I did just that. His name spilling from my lips in a low scream - muffled as I nuzzled his neck. He smirked against my neck, seemingly pleased and removed his hand from my panties. He wiped his hand on something in the back and started to put his clothes back on, I followed suit. It was awkward, I wasn't really sure of what we should be doing now. I looked for my phone, finding it tossed near my pants.

"It's only ten-fifteen. Still wanna go to the club?" I asked, running my fingers through my hair.

"Sure." He said, opening the hatch to get out of the back.

I crawled out, jumping out with the help of Eli. He kept my hand in his as we walked to the club. I looked over at him with a smile, which he returned. I stopped us so I could at least make him decent. His hair was sticking up and about all his buttons were out of place. I was on the third messed up button when I heard an excited shriek.

"Clare! What are you doing? You're in public!" Shrieked Alli, running up to me.


	20. Assumptions

I jumped back from Eli, a blush creeping onto my face. Alli jumped between us – her eyes darting at Eli evilly before cheeringly pushing me from him. Drew stepped next to Eli, looking somewhat awkward and out of place.

Alli started jabbing me, stating how much she couldn't believe what we had been starting. I kept trying to explain myself but Alli butted in every time I started.

"Oh my god! Shush! Can you let me explain?" I yelled, glaring at a surprised Alli.

I heard a faint chuckle from the guys and Alli's cheeks tinted pink. I grabbed her arm, and then dragged her around the corner. She started to glare at me. I took a deep breath, calming myself.

"Okay, Clare, start explaining." Said Alli, folding her arms.

"Well, I had dinner with Eli's parents an-" She cut me off.

"Really? Eep! Ho-"

"-and as I was saying, when we left I wanted to hang out with Eli. We didn't want to go to the movies because it was too late and the park wasn't the best idea. So we agreed on Above the Dot." I finished.

"And that's where I caught you two about to get it on?" She questioned while one of her plucked brows rose.

"No. I was fixing his shirt. Nothing more." I said, diverting my eyes.

"Why would you need to fix his shirt? I mean, that would imply it was messy and Eli isn't all that messy. The only explanation would be that you two…OH MY GOD! Clare! You had sex with Eli!" She yelled, I squeaked and hurriedly placed my hand over her mouth.

"No! I'm still wearing my ring, aren't I?" I stated, lifting my hand. "I'm not going into detail but you could say…um…whatever before sex is called had happened."

Her eyes widened, and then she started to yell something against my mouth. I kept shushing her and glaring at her to stop her ranting. She stopped, I sighed.

"Now, I'm going to move my hand. When we're alone, I'll fill you in. Okay?" I asked and received a nod from Alli. "Good."

I dropped my hand, revealing a giant smile from her. She bounced happily, and then peeked her head around the corner.

"Are you guys coming? I wanna dance. Unless you just want Clare and I to dance alone." She said, suggestively wiggling her eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes as the boys hurried along, each going to their girlfriend. Drew kept leaning down to Alli's ear and whispering something that caused her to blush. Eli just had his arm held around me loosely.

When we reached the stairs, the line was considerably large and I realized this was the third Saturday of the month – when Peter's band would get together. Everyone loved them, since they had appeared in a movie a year ago and they were well known in Degrassi.

I could hear Peter's singing – just faintly. The faint beat vibrated my skin and sent me in a slight musical buzz. We got to the door, Emma at her station. I had forgotten my card but since she knew Alli and I had passes she let us in for free. Drew and Eli paid, leading us to the dance floor afterwards.

The Stüdz just finished a song, unfortunately, and took a break. So we were greeted with the excited words of Ke$ha, Take It Off was the song. I turned around, pressing my back to Eli. He slid his hands down to my waist – guiding me almost to the music.

I raised my arms, giggling as Eli nipped the skin of my neck. Alli seemed to take notice, giving me a knowing smile which let me to falter in my dancing.

But I didn't stop. The music had me at an all time high – mixed from Eli's playful bites, the music, and the leftover glow from my release. Somehow Alli and I got left so the guys could get us drinks; we stayed near the counter along the dance floor and kept dancing.

Alli giggled as another guy came up behind her to dance with her, but she shooed him off. Or tried to. He seemed persistent. She gave me a pleading look. So I stepped beside her, then slung my arm over her protectively. I raised my eyebrow at him, testing him.

He made an 'O' face before backing off. We giggled when he turned around and disappeared in the crowd.

"Are we missing something here?" Asked Drew, causing us to jump apart.

"No. Just shooing a guy off for Alli." I said simply.

"Isn't being gay against your religion?" He asked, teasingly raising an eyebrow.

"Who said I was gay?" I asked, folding my arms. "That was just a friendly gesture. Men just assume it means I'm gay." I smirked, leaning against the counter.

"Has anyone seen my girlfriend? Miss Saint Clare. She seemed to have disappeared." Said Eli, stepping in front of me aggressively.

"The Old Saint Clare is gone." I said, biting my lip.

"Well, the new Clare has to be home in ten minutes." Said Eli, smirking at my surprised look.

"What! We have to go! Now! I'll talk to you later, Alli." I yelped, pulling Eli along with me.


	21. Perfection

The next day was weird, really weird. People kept giving me weird looks, and I guess the same thing was happening to Alli. She ran up to me during lunch with a pained look on her face, face burning.

"You will never guess what's up on the Anti-Grapevine! Chantay said that we're gay!" She exclaimed, shoving her phone in my face.

I snatched the phone from her, scrolling down the page and reading the latest 'Degrassi Gossip'. Chantay said that an anonymous source revealed that Alli and I had been seen dancing with each other at Above the Dot. And that I had gotten protective of Alli when a guy went after her.

I felt mortified, as had Alli. We glanced at the people around us, giving us disgusted looks. My blood boiled and I growled. Eli just sat down on the picnic table with me, eyeing me worriedly as I clutched Alli's phone.

"What's wrong?" He asked, leaning into me.

"Everyone in Degrassi thinks Alli and I are gay. Together. Can you believe that?" I exclaimed, growling.

Suddenly, I heard a stifled grunt from Eli. I looked over to see him biting his lip, trying to stop a smile. Then, giving up, he started to laugh. Like a tear-inducing fit which caused me to get up and stomp away with Alli.

"Clare! Wait! I'm sorry." He said, catching up with me at the stairs of Degrassi. "I have an idea."

"For what?" I asked, confused.

"To prove to people you aren't gay." He said, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"And what's your plan?" I asked, blushing as he suddenly lifted me up.

"Well, I have two. One, we could start another vicious rumor that tops your 'gay' one. Two, we could be like every other teenager and start to seriously make-out right here." He said, smiling. "I prefer the latter."

"Why not both?" I smiled, kissing his nose.

"Ugh. Okay. This isn't helping our problem or my stomach. But I do like Eli's first idea." Said Alli, her words making me blush.

"Well, how about you take care of the rumor and we can work on the second idea." He said, stepping back until his legs hit the ledge near the stairs.

"Or you two can not make-out and help me with the rumor." She said, tugging my arm.

"You know what; let them think what they want. I don't care. I know I'm not gay. I know you aren't gay. And I know we aren't together, so who cares." I stated, wrapping my arms around Eli's neck.

I turned my head to look at Alli, who seemed to be contemplating on that idea. Then she smiled, nodding her head.

"And, if anyone asks, just don't talk to them." I said, turning my head back to Eli.

He had been burying his face in my hair, chuckling softly as Alli and I discussed our dilemma. I hugged him tighter, nuzzling his neck and giggling. Everything seemed alright for the most part so I ignored the stares and carried on my cuddling with Eli.

* * *

"Adam, you're so gross." Commented Fiona, scrunching her nose in disgust.

"We've gone over this about ten times. I like my fries dipped in shakes, deal." He teased while flashing a shake coated fry in her face.

"Whatever. So, I was thinking, would you maybe want to go to the movies or something this weekend?" She asked, biting her lip cautiously.

Adam gulped, and not because of the fry he popped in his mouth. He glanced nervously at the table, not sure what to say. After his lunch with Fiona, they had been near in-seperatable. During school, they'd spend as much free-time with each other as possible. She even sat with Eli and Clare. After school, they'd meet at the Dot and even the park. He went to her house once so she could grab something for the park – her pig.

She never confronted him about his transgender. Either she didn't know or she didn't want to bother him about it. Besides that, he knew there was romantic tension – he felt it. When they casually held hands in the park, or when they had sat incredibly close to each other.

"Fiona," he started. "I…Well, I don't know how to say this but you do know about my secret. Right?"

"What secret might that be?" She asked, leaning across the table with her bluish grey eyes sparkling.

"That I'm, well, FTM transgender." She tensed, not like 'ohmygod, you're what?' but a 'here it comes' jerk.

It seemed forever before she replied. "I know."

"And you aren't weirded out? Or disgusted?" He asked, eyes looking away.

"Well, when I first found out I was shocked. But, honestly, who cares." She said, reaching a hand to him. "When I see you, I see a very cute guy. Who's sweet and dorky. That seems to care about me. And who I care for."

Adam sucked in a breath, eyes shooting to meet hers. Her soft hand tightened around his, fingers sliding into his grip. Before they realized it, they were leaning across the table, eyes drooping.

Then, their lips grazed just slightly. Adam gripped her fingers tighter as she tilted her head and pushed forward slightly. After what seemed to be hours, they parted just slightly and rested their foreheads against each other.

"Pick you up at eight?" He asked, she giggled happily.

"Of course." She said, pecking his cheek before settling back in her seat.

Adam blushed, a goofy smile on his lips. Their hands stayed touching, Adam gripping Fiona's fingers loosely.

* * *

I sat cross-legged on the grass in the park, eyes scanning across the English paper Eli had me review. Although, I had a hard time concentrating as Eli kept nibbling on my ear as I sat between his legs with his arms around my waist.

We sat comfortably near a tree, which Eli was using to prop himself up. I kept smiling as I read his paper – mostly scanning because that's all my mind could seem to handle. I gave a sigh of defeat and dropped his paper on my bag and snuggled back against him.

I rested my head against his shoulder, tilting it to face him and closed my eyes. This was a perfect moment, this was my happy place. Where I belonged, in his arms.

Everything in the world seemed right. And I looked up at Eli who rested his head against the tree trunk.

"I love you," I said.

He looked down, grinning at me. "I love you, too."

I gave a content sigh, closing my eyes - slowly falling asleep from the lullaby his heart gave me. _Thump, thump. Thump. Thump, thump._

Did I know it would end soon? Did I know this peace and perfection would shatter? The answer was no, I didn't.


	22. She's Mine

"_Night, Clare._" Replied Eli through the phone, I smiled.

"Night, Eli. I love you." I said, realizing this was our fifth attempt to hang up.

"_Love you, too_." He replied.

"Bye." I said and hung up, placing the phone down.

I dozed slightly, suddenly realizing it was one in the morning and it was a school night. So, I snuggled deeper into my sheets, hugging my pillow tighter. I was just on the brink, reality falling behind me when a sudden bang caused me to jump.

It seemed like nothing, just something from the neighbors. But, deep down, I knew it wasn't. I felt fear drip down my spine, leaving a cold trail in its wake. So, listening to my instincts, I tried very quietly to get out of my bed and grabbed my phone.

I crept to the door, opening it just slightly and peered at the stairs through the crack. It was then I saw a black silhouette creeping up the stairs. I sucked in a breath and hurried to my closet, tip-toeing into it and burying myself under loads of stuffed animals.

The mistake was squeezing closer to the wall, accidently pressing a button of an animal. A song started playing, and I felt my blood freeze. Instinctively, I hit the speed-dial and put the phone to my ear.

"_Clare?_" The groggy voice of Eli answered.

"Eli! There's someone in my house!" I whispered harshly, trying to pitch my voice low.

"_What?_" He asked, clearly confused.

"There's someone in my house! E-"

* * *

The line went dead. An eerie ring in his ear, this caused Eli to pull the phone from his face to stare at it. Then, as his grogginess faded, realization struck him like a cold hammer. He jumped out of his bed, eyes taking in nothing but the sparkling blackness.

"Clare!" He yelled, stumbling through the darkness of his room.

He climbed the stairs of his basement, bursting the door open and grabbing his keys from the kitchen counter. He bumped into numerous items until he reached the door, shoving his shoes on.

The light from upstairs turned on, startling him. He looked up to see his step-dad hurrying down the stairs with a bat. He looked at Eli, then at his hand with the keys.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked, looking at Eli angrily.

"Clare! She called me! She said someone was in her house. Then…the line went dead." He replied, his step-dad widened his eyes.

"_What?_" Was his reply, bewildered.

"I have to go! Call 911, now!" Commanded Eli, thrusting the door open and ran to his hearse.

He jumped in, turning the ignition to Morty, he prayed his hearse wouldn't crap out. Instantly, the hearse started with a low purr and Eli kissed the steering wheel before zooming out of his driveway.

Tears pricked his eyes as Clare's words haunted him. Her words playing over and over in his head. He pressed his gas pedal harder, pushing Morty to his limit. He was going to _kill_ whoever took her. He was going to murder whoever it was.

Eli skidded to a halt in front of Clare's house. The front door was busted open, Eli ran into the house calling her name. This caused her mother to come out of her room and look at Eli with a surprised expression as he got to the top of the stairs.

"Eli. What are you doing here?" She asked, suddenly angry.

"Clare!" He yelled, running into her room.

The room was surprisingly neat, save for the messy bed. There didn't seem to be much of a struggle, until he strained his ears to hear a familiar noise. Music. It had been playing in the background as Clare was talking to him.

"What is this about Clare? What are yo-" Clare's mother stopped talking as she saw Clare wasn't in her room. "Where is she?"

"Someone kidnapped her." Eli replied solemnly as he picked up the toy bear Clare had bumped into.

The song ended, its cheery song left the room quiet. Until Mrs. Edwards gasped, then choked on a sob.

On the bear was a tiny note, it was typed and stabbed into the chest of the bear – right through the heart.

_She's mine now._


	23. Taken

It's been two weeks, no leads. The kidnapper had been precise and stealthy. He/She left no finger prints, no DNA, and the busted door hadn't been busted – they used the house key left in light near the door.

The only thing they had was the note – and that gave them nothing but pain. Eli stayed locked in his basement, nearly going insane from tension and regret. He tried everything he could to find her.

Flyers. Talked to people in school. Television. Radio. Advertisement from the Dot. Even the Anti-Grapevine took part in it. But two weeks later, they were no closer than that first night.

Adam tried to help, stayed with Eli as long as possible. Doing whatever he could. But he couldn't coax him out of his depressed demeanor. So he just gave up as Eli showed no signs of improvement.

So, Eli stayed in his room, staring at the cracking wall of the basement. Eyes intent on nothing, mind numb.

He kept blaming himself, hating himself. He knew that him being with Clare would lead to trouble. After what happened with Julia, he knew he couldn't be happy. It wasn't allowed. Life simply wouldn't let him.

He spent his nights slipping into unconsciousness – only to be plagued with nightmares of Clare and Julia mixed. He'd wake up in a cold sweat, clutching his chest as his heart broke repeatedly.

* * *

Sunlight filtered through the small window of my prison. It hurt my eyes. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I was still unconscious. Wishing I didn't have to endure another day of this torture.

I had been chained to a cot, clad in a bra and panties. Forced to lay there exposed to the hungry, disgusting gaze of my kidnapper. He wasn't there, thank God. I growled, no, God did nothing for me.

He left me here, to be tainted by that disgusting man. I felt tears prick my eyes, the first few days I had prayed and prayed. But I got nothing but painful scars from _him_.

I wondered if Eli missed me. If my mother missed me. If anyone missed me. I was starving – the only thing _he_ gave me was bread once a day and water. I got to use a bathroom in the cellar where _he_ kept me.

I heard faint steps approach me, I gulped and cringed back. Soon, my kidnapper came into view. His hair was matted, wet. From a shower. Good to get clean after a night of torture – clean the blood off.

"Hello," he greeted.

I narrowed my eyes, defiant. He approached me, closer and leaned over to come face to face with me. His brown eyes dance playfully, scrunched up face smiling at me. His hand slid up my thigh, up my stomach and to my neck.

"I said hello." He growled, gripping my neck.

"Fuck you." I replied, spitting in his face.

He brought his hand back, smacking me. I winced, closing my eyes. He chuckled, grip on my throat tightening. I gasped and gulped like a fish out of water. He let out another maniacal laugh, nails digging into my skin before letting go.

"Today's the day." He whispered in my ear, licking it.

I shuddered, pulling my head away. He growled, then grabbed my face and made me look at him. He sneered, grabbed his knife from his pocket and pressed it to my cheek.

"Do you want me to make another scar on you're pretty little body?" He asked, pressing it further. I didn't answer. "Do you?" He spat.

"N-no." I stuttered, body trembling.

"No what?" He asked.

"No, Fitz, please don't." I cried, he let go of my face.

"Good girl. Now, as I was saying. Today is the day I make your boyfriend pay." Replied Fitz, walking away.

He came back shortly after with a camcorder. The cap was off and the light was green, he shot my body. Going over the long scar he made on my stomach. Then to my face – probably dirty and bruised from abuse.

"No! Don't! Please, leave him alone. You can't let him see me like this. I'll do anything." I cried, pulling myself up to the extent of my chains.

"You aren't in a position to make offers. Plus, you have nothing to offer me. I took everything you could possibly offer." He laughed.

I felt tears prick my eyes and I looked away – ashamed. He filmed me a little while longer then left. I cried freely then, up until he returned. That day he truly broke me, after having his way with me yet again.

Each time I pretended it was Eli, that he was being sweet and gentle – and not rough and painful.

I fell into unconsciousness again, but I dreamed. I dreamed of the happy times, of that picture. Of that day in the park. Of that perfect time.

* * *

Eli seemed to be on autopilot everyday in school. No one bothered him. They knew he was mourning. He spent the day in a daze – like any other. He hung back in his last class as his teacher commented on his lack of attention – then dismissed him.

He went to his locker, then he froze as he saw a small envelope attached to the door. The hall was bare, no one in sight. He grabbed it, flipping it back and forth. It read: _Payback_

Confused, he opened the slim envelope to reveal a blank disc. He went into the M.I. room and logged on. He inserted the disk that was in the envelope and was confused by the grey and black fuzz. Then, his worst nightmare lay before him.

There was his Clare. Wearing only her bra and panties, in some old cellar with one window. She was chained with her arms spread – legs as well. Her stomach had a long newly healing wound on it. Her legs had smaller wounds, as had her arms.

Tears ran freely as he watched it. Watched her crying in the video. Begging someone to stop. To spare _him_.

"Eli, what are you doing?" Asked Adam, walking up behind Eli. "What the fuck?"

"It's Clare! I…I…I…" His mind was reeling, he felt nauseous. Then, the words on the envelope.

"Where did you get that?" A horrified Adam asked.

"Fitz." Eli replied, his tone deadly.

"What? Fitz? What are…" Realization struck him.

"I'm going to fucking kill him." Replied Eli, taking the CD out of the computer.

He stuffed it in his bag, then marched out of the school. There, he saw Fitz standing with his friends. Eli threw his bag at Adam, who had followed. Then, he grabbed Fitz from behind and threw him down on the ground.

Eli jumped him, purposely landing his knee in Fitz's gut. His fists collided with Fitz numerous times, until his own knuckles seemed to numb. They were violent hits, they broke his nose and bashed his skull. He stopped, grabbed Fitz by the collar and shook him.

"Where is she? Where the hell is she?" Asked Eli, landing another punch.

"You'll never find her." Laughed Fitz. "And if you don't stop, then I'll just have one of my buddies off her."

"Don't fuck with me, if I find out she's dead, I'll murder you. That's a promise." Spat Eli, bashing Fitz's head down. Then he took his knee and placed it under Fitz's arm, bending it the wrong way.

Fitz seethed, relishing the pain and he spat in Eli's face. Tempting him. Greedily, Eli gave into temptation and pushed down farther until a sickening crunch was heard. Fitz gasped and cried out, writhing and wishing to cuddle his wounded arm.

"Where. Is. She." Stated Eli, grabbing the collar of Fitz shirt to make him eye level.

"Stupid, stupid Eli. She's been here the whole time. Right under your nose." He laughed manically.


	24. Saved

Eli ran through the halls of Degrassi, anxious to follow Fitz's ridiculous clues. Past this room, take a left. A right. Go straight. It confused him to no end, until he saw the hidden door. He pushed the door open violently, unsure of what to expect.

Nothing but a complex system of a boiler. Fear struck Eli – Fitz wouldn't kill her, would he? No, he couldn't. His eyes flickered to another door hidden to the right of the boiler. His last hope. He banged on the door, slamming into it violently and yelling his love's name.

* * *

"Clare! Clare!" Called a familiar voice, stirring me from unconsciousness.

My eyes fluttered open, head tilting up to look around the room. I saw at the top of the stairs was a dark figure, running down the dark stairs fast. I choked back a sob. It wasn't Fitz. She wasn't sure who it was, but the voice struck something in her.

"Clare!" Cried Eli, running up to me.

My eyes clouded with tears, I tried to reach up to him to hold me, but the chains stopped me. I sobbed, torn. Eli's eyes were watering and he seemed scared and relieved all the same. His eyes trailed down my body, he clenched his fists angrily and hung his head.

"Eli…" I whispered – voice hoarse from under-usage. What seemed to set him off was when I struggled against the chains.

His head snapped up and looked at my wrists with distaste. He was disgusted with me, at what I was now. Soiled. Filthy. Damaged. But, seeming to look past that, he went into his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife.

He picked the locks, and unwrapped them from my bruised wrists. He got up and took off his sweat shirt to wrap around my front, then picked me up and carried me up out of the dank cellar. I wrapped my arms around his neck, crying quietly in his neck.

We were in the school, the basement which was accessed through the boiler room. He brought me to the front of the school where police cars and ambulances had just arrived.

They took me on a stretcher, and almost didn't allow Eli on. But I cried and yelled for them to let him come, which he did

He held my hand tightly, kissing it and rubbing it. I never felt more relieved and nauseous at the same time. And, with the stress of everything rushing to me, I let myself fall asleep. The last sight was Eli and his brilliant green eyes.

* * *

They kept me isolated, which I preferred. The people who came to check me occasionally seemed to be my worst nightmare. My mother had only came into the room once, seeing as when she did, I had been huddled in my bed crying. She didn't seem to want to see me like I was. Damaged. Broken. Soiled. No longer the good child - it was like Darcy all over again. I began to have nightmares, vivid images of Fitz and his psychotic expression of blood-lust. The doctors upped my medication to calm me, I felt sick. I was becoming crazy, a lunatic. I was worse than Darcy. She had only been suicidal.

But I was suicidal, delusional, and traumatized. A potent mixture. I fear anyone who came into the room, each movement changed the seen. A nurse leaning over to check my IV turned into Fitz leaning over me with a knife. A doctor going to check the pulse on my neck became an image of Fitz reaching to choke me.

I hated what I was becoming. I loathed everything, loathed the man that ruined my life. Now, not only was I becoming psychotic, I was also becoming murderous. I cursed everyone, everything. My mother and father, their stupid fighting. I cursed God for allowing Fitz to do what he did. I cursed K.C. and Alli and Jenna - images of them laughing together in school at her. I cursed Fitz, for his sick ways. I even cursed Eli, no matter how much I loved him, he had let this happen. But mostly, I cursed myself for being so naive and stupid.

No one visited me. I knew they wouldn't. I was crazy, now. So why bother with me? I was damaged goods that no one - not even my mother - wanted. So, I was kept in isolation until I finally snapped.


	25. Recovering

A few weeks later, I got a visitor. I didn't know who, the nurse just said someone was here to see me. I guessed my mother, considering she only visited me - and it was only that first night. But, I didn't get lucky. It was the one person who I didn't want to see indefinitely. He was at the top of my list of people not to see. I kept my head down, buried in my folded knees as I hugged my legs. I knew the sound of his footsteps, of the slight squeak and heavy step.

He stopped at the foot of my bed, I heard the faint rustle of fabric that indicated he slipped his hands in his pocket. I stayed as I was, not gracing him with lifting my head to face him. He coughed once, trying to coax me to lift my head. I didn't bother until he moved once again and sat at the edge of my bed. I felt smooth fingertips touch my hand and I immediately jumped back and scrunched on the back board of the iron rod bed.

Eli's expression was pained, he looked to horrible. His hair was a mess, under his eyes were deep dark circles and his eyes glittered with tears. Outwardly, I smirked, he was in pain. Inwardly, I cried, he was in pain because of me. I wanted to jump into his arms, let out my pain, but he'd just brush me off. I was damaged. What did he care? So, I cuddled myself in the corner between the bed and the wall, trying to get myself as far away as possible.

"Don't do this, Clare. Don't let him win. This is what he wants, he wants you to suffer." Eli said, his voice cracked a few times.

"What do you care? You let me suffer. Did you even try to find me?" I asked, my voice laced with venom. I knew it was a stupid question, but I was too wounded and numb to care.

"Clare. How could you even say that? I never slept - and when I did I had awful nightmares about what happened to you. I kept wondering who took you and where you were. It was killing me. And when I saw that video, I cried. You were taken and abused because of _me_. Because of that stupid fucking war with Fitz! _I_ caused you pain, I caused you to fear everything. It's all my fault. But you can't let him win." He said, inching closer until his face was centimeters from mine. "Dammit, Clare. Please. Don't let him win. Don't lose yourself."

His hands went to my face, cupping my cheeks lightly. I cringed, scared from his aggressive words and action. But, I didn't have time to dwell on that because Eli leaned in slowly. His lips brushed mine, tickling the skin. My first response was to hit him, push him away. But the familiar tingle zipped up my spine as he gently moved his mouth against mine. I forgot about everything, about Fitz, about my anger. All I could do was feel. Eli. Feel his hands on my body, his mouth on mine, his presence. I felt...free.

Tears pricked my eyes, my body flung itself towards him. I hungrily kissed him back, my hands tangling into his soft hair. He was a bit surprised but returned it with equal fervor. His hand slid down my waist to the small of my back, pushing me closer. My tears fell freely, slipping onto his own face and chin.

We pulled away, just barely and saw he was crying as well. That struck a nerve, I felt my blackened heart tighten in my chest. He cared, he really cared about me. Suddenly, I realized our position. I was laying on top of him, my palms flat on his chest, and I was in awe. He was touching. And I wasn't afraid. I didn't think of Fitz, I didn't c_are_ about Fitz. He wasn't here, and he couldn't hurt me anymore. My face fell to his chest, and I sobbed his name, sobbed numerous apologies. He just petted my hair, shushing me and whispered sweet nothings in my ear.

Eli and I stayed like that for a long while, until my crying fit had stopped and I felt exhaustion take over. He rolled us onto our sides, still holding me tightly - afraid to let go. I felt at peace finally. Eli was the key to it, he always was. With my parents fighting. With K.C. and with school. And now, this right here.

I was falling, and he caught me. I was broken and he put the pieces back together. After that night, I realized we've been through almost everything together. And that nothing could separate us.

* * *

They finally let me out of the hospital. Every day for two weeks, Eli would come to see me as soon as he could. My mother even came, after hearing from Eli that I had gained back my sanity. Darcy had come home, once she caught wind of what happened. She tackled me when I met her in the 'garden' in the hospital. Darcy had cried, and cried, and cried. I did, too. I filled her in about my life from the start of freshman year, with K.C. up until that day. She pushed me to tell her what happened with Fitz, and I thanked that Eli hadn't been with them. I went all out, describing everything down to the last emotion. She cradled me in her arms in one of the benches while I confessed - I never felt more secure in my life. Darcy could relate, she could compare her experience to mine. She visited me for an hour each day to talk about what happened - like therapy but without the 'And how does that make you feel?' thing.

The last two days was spent in a different room in the hospital, ones that you'd get examined in. And that's what they did. They were testing me to see if I could be let out in the world. Alli was part of the test, she finally visited me. She had jumped into my bed immediately and hugged me while crying into my shoulder. She wanted to visit me, but her parents didn't want their daughter going to the psycho part of the hospital to see her deranged friend. We spent about three hours talking, filling me in on what I missed. I already caught up with the help of Eli. Third day he visited he brought all my work. The teachers gave me a three week extension for everything.

The day that I left, my mother had been extremely cautious and took her time to drive me to place that were familiar - as the doctor had suggested to allow me to adjust back to normal routine. Then, when we got home, she led me to my room. I started to feel a little panic, but it washed away when I saw the room was neat and the stuffed animals weren't in the closet.

She fixed a big meal and Darcy chattered away about non-sense and meeting Peter and the huge argument they got in. It felt like the old days, except my father wasn't there. Darcy didn't question me about our parents, simply avoided any topic involving that. So I guessed she knew and accepted the fact that our dad was in jail.

I wanted to sleep, the day had been exhausting. I added up the time and realized I spent a month and a week away from home - in fairly uncomfortable conditions. So, I relished my bed, cuddling my soft, fluffy pillows and the poofy comforter. Darcy had slept in her old bed, my parents never bothered to take it out in case she wanted to visit.

And that worked out well, because I don't think I could've spent that first night alone. Darcy didn't stop talking until about eleven when her words trailed off and soft snores replaced her words. I fell asleep with a smile, knowing that I was home and safe.


	26. AUTHOR'S NOTE IMPORTANT

_Sorry devoted readers but that was the end of my story. I'll be writing a new one, off this one._

_Sincerely,_

_Crissy-Kitty-Kat_


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